Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense has ordered the withdrawal of defective domestically-produced mortar shells from the front lines after soldiers reported widespread malfunctions, ZN.UA reports.
According to the investigation, at least 100,000 shells have been recalled – enough to cover six months of conservative usage.
Since Russian started its full-scale invasion, Ukraine has significantly ramped up its domestic production of military equipment, including shells, ammunition, and drones. This effort is crucial for enhancing Ukraine’s defense capabilities and ensuring a steady supply of military resources. Ukraine aimed to produce up to 1 million artillery shells annually by 2025, according to President Zelenskyy.
Military units reported multiple critical failures between 18 September and 10 November, including shells deviating from targets by 100-600 meters, failures to exit the mortar tube, and duds that didn’t explode on impact.
In one unit, “out of 17 shots, nine shells fell short of the target by up to 600 meters, seven didn’t explode (three never left the barrel), and only one shell hit the target,” ZN.UA reports.
Military quality control inspectors initially identified risks regarding “critical import supplies (gunpowder, explosives), qualified personnel training, production facilities, and additional technological equipment,” but later approved production capacity of 670,000 mines annually.
A 21 November emergency meeting revealed systemic failures in quality control. A Defense Ministry department representative said there was “an absence of quality control systems before delivery to the Armed Forces,” according to the report.
The investigation uncovered that non-standard detonators were being used, and there was no methodology for testing imported gunpowder.
Ukraine’s Parliament has already registered a resolution to dismiss Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, whose ministry was supposed to check the batch of shells before sending them to the front.
State Bureau of Investigation opened a criminal investigation.
Prior to Umerov, Oleksii Reznikov served as the defense minister from November 2021 until his dismissal in September 2023. Reznikov’s dismissal from his position as Ukraine’s Defense Minister followed the corruption scandal in military procurement. The Ministry of Defense had overpaid for food supplies, including eggs.
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