The New York Times reported that the British Department of Defense has formed a secret task force tasked with obtaining Soviet live ammunition to meet the needs of Ukrainian forces.
The newspaper quotes an informed source: “The British Ministry of Defense has formed a task force whose task is to arm Ukraine and provide its army with Soviet weapons and ammunition.”
According to the publication, with the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, Ukrainian state-owned companies began searching through intermediaries in the United States and other countries to ensure the purchase of tanks, helicopters, aircraft and mortars.
The newspaper notes that London and Washington financed Ukrainian arms deals with third countries and paid the fees of intermediaries.
According to the publication, American intermediaries are looking for ammunition for Soviet weapons at factories in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Romania. In June 2022, the UK struck a deal with a Pakistani state-owned munitions company to purchase 40,000 artillery shells. According to the agreement, the money was to be transferred to a Romanian intermediary, and then the weapons were to be delivered from Pakistan to the UK, not to mention Ukraine. But the deal fell through because the Pakistani side was unable to provide the missiles.
In June, a Czech arms dealer offered Ukraine some $185 million worth of ammunition and dozens of Soviet bombers.
The newspaper emphasizes that in Bulgaria the work of one of the factories for the production of ammunition was resumed, and representatives of the US Embassy were present at the opening ceremony of some workshops of the plant.
Source: News
