Ukraine's Defense Ministry and the State Customs Service have discovered that from March to July, various military units did not receive the designated humanitarian aid worth nearly Hr 172 million ($4.2 million).
In Ukraine, the "humanitarian aid" label used by customs includes goods meant for the army, such as protective equipment or cars. Such goods are free of customs fees.
The joint audit by the ministry and customs service found that a number of goods imported as "humanitarian aid" and meant for specific military units have never made it to their alleged destination, meaning that the goods were likely deliberately mislabelled to avoid customs fees.
These problematic imports included nearly 500 tons of goods, carried in 424 vehicles, the statement read.
As a result, the ministry appealed to law enforcement agencies to investigate unspecified officials, alleging illicit enrichment, embezzlement, and abuse of power.
In 2023, the State Customs Service said that almost a third of imported "humanitarian aid" did not reach the Ukrainian military due to customs violations.
The agency reported checking 9,000 instances of importing goods labeled "humanitarian aid" during the first nine months of 2023. In some 3,000 of such cases, the Customs Service said, the designated military units could not confirm that they had received the goods.
On March 1, 2022, days after Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine and humanitarian aid poured into the country, the government issued a decree allowing the import of certain goods tax-free.
In December 2022, the list of goods that can be imported tax-free as humanitarian aid was amended. According to the State Customs Service, some importers allegedly used these provisions to avoid tax.
Kateryna Hodunova
