Unpublished audits obtained by The New York Times show Ukraine ignored red flags in defense procurement as the country lost at least $1.2 billion to fraud, waste, and mismanagement in 2024 alone

The New York Times (1 and 2) obtained previously unpublished audits of the Ukrainian government's military weapons procurement in 2024 and 2025. Ukraine's State Audit Service and the Defense Ministry's internal audit unit reviewed the work of the Defense Procurement Agency. Among other findings, the audits showed that Ukraine lost about $1.2 billion in 2024 alone to fraud, waste, and mismanagement in defense procurement. Here's what else the documents revealed. At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you're reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication. If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected]. To read Meduza's exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.