An international fund managed by Britain’s Ministry of Defense has used less than half of the £900 million given by donors.
More than half of Ukraine’s military funding, managed by the UK MoD, has not been used due to bureaucratic contract delays. The Guardian reported this on Friday, April 19, citing the statements of British Labor.
It is noted that in total the international fund for Ukraine, led by Britain, has nine donor countries. Critics say he was slow to bring weapons to the front.
So, of the £900 million given by governments over the past two years, £500 million of which came from the UK, only £404 million was allocated or spent.
The ministers admitted that some of the equipment provided for the signed contracts will not arrive in Ukraine until the spring of next year.
MoD officials said the delays were due to the need to vet each of the many defense companies bidding for the contracts.
John Healey, the shadow defense secretary, accused the MoD of “not being in a hurry”.
“The UK is united in supporting Ukraine and against Russian aggression. As Russia escalates its attacks on Ukraine, its allies must step up military support. At the same time, the UK government is in no rush to move the critical new equipment to the Ukrainians. Speeding up this process will have the support of Labour, as on the issue of British military aid to Ukraine and the strengthening of NATO allies, the government has and will continue to have full support from Labor,” he emphasized.
The International Fund for Ukraine was created in August 2022 to fund military training and equipment for Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in February of that year.
It was conceived as a “low-bureaucracy, flexible fund” managed by the Ministry of Defense on behalf of an executive group made up of the UK, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Lithuania.
The money was allocated by Denmark (133 million pounds sterling), Iceland (3 million pounds sterling), Lithuania (5 million pounds sterling), Netherlands (110 million pounds sterling), Norway (119 million pounds sterling), Sweden (26 ). £ million), Australia (£26 million) and New Zealand (£4 million).
Let’s remember that in July last year, when the fund had £770 million, less than 10% of this amount was used.
In August of the same year, it was reported that Britain had signed air defense contracts for Ukraine.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.