An interdepartmental commission is investigating the supply of defective 120 mm mortar shells to Ukrainian forces after several reports that they were wrong, the Ministry of Defense announced on November 26.

The statement comes in the wake of complaints and videos shared on social media showing mortar shells not exploding or hitting their targets.

The ministry said it had withdrawn the munitions in question and would instead supply Ukrainian forces with imported shells.

The Dzerkalo Tyzhnia The news institute reported in its investigation that this involved 100,000 shells that would last six months of front-line use, causing delays before the imported shells arrived.

Artillery and mortar shells are essential on the frontline as Ukraine already struggles to match better-supplied Russian forces.

According to Dzerkalo Tyzhnia, the supply of the shells in question was the result of an agreement between the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Strategic Industries to purchase ammunition from a national manufacturer and thus decrease dependence on foreign supplies.

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The outlet did not name the factory responsible for producing the shells, but said it was part of the state defense conglomerate Ukroboronprom and had often been targeted by Russian attacks.

The media investigation highlighted the Ministry of Defense’s allegedly inadequate quality control process. Warnings raised by some officials about the plant’s ability to produce shell detonators “disappeared” during the trial, and military officials failed to report the initial problems with the shells that emerged in September.

In its statement, the Ministry of Defense emphasized that the Ministry of Strategic Industries is responsible for the execution of the order. Preliminary findings cited low-quality cargo and poor storage conditions as possible causes.

The State Bureau of Investigation has launched a criminal investigation, and “appropriate personnel decisions will be made regarding the officials responsible,” the statement said. The ministry promised new measures to improve quality control and improve the inspection process at all stages.

Ukraine’s defense sector has been marred by several major procurement scandals throughout the full-scale war.

The two most notorious scandals, one over inflated food prices and the other over low-quality winter jackets, led to dismissal of the former Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov.

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