Defective 120 mm mines that did not work at the front were removed, 10% have already been replaced with new ones.
This was announced by the Minister of Strategic Industries Herman Smetanin at a press conference on January 13, a Babel correspondent reports.
In November 2024, military commentator Yuriy Butusov released video clips he claimed were sent by Ukrainian mortars. The footage showed a mine falling a few meters after being fired. The footage involved a shipment of defective rounds, allegedly manufactured by “Ukroboronprom”.
The Ministry of Defense responded — they assured that the investigation into the causes of low-quality mines reaching the front line has been ongoing for several weeks.
As Smetanin said, the mines had a number of problems: due to poor-quality packaging, the powder changed its properties, the capsules did not work, and accordingly, the main charge did not fly out.
In addition, the mines were equipped with fuses designed for tank shells. This was done because Ukraine did not produce the necessary fuses at the time and there was a shortage of them, says the Minister of Strategic Industry. He stated that if the gunpowder had worked and the mines had been launched at the required speed, the fuses would have worked too.
The troops received 15 batches of such mines, namely 54 000 ammunition — they were recalled and sent to the manufacturer for further development.
Now the main charge, which contains gunpowder, has been stored in a hermetic vacuum package, preventing moisture from getting in. According to Smetanin, these mines are now equipped with European-made capsules, and proper fuses have also been installed.
"We made new mines, new charges, etc., gave them to two or four military units, they tested them and found them suitable for use. Now the enterprise has already produced the next batch of 32 400. And they have all also already reached our troops," Smetanin noted.
An investigation is underway into the delivery of defective mines to the front, and two criminal proceedings have been initiated. The mines were tested by a commission consisting of representatives of both the Ministry of Defense and the Logistics Forces Command.
"If you want to remove the entire management of the enterprise at one point, I believe that, to put it mildly, this will not benefit their scaling. We need to understand and then make a decision," the minister says.
Smetanin emphasized that, as a minister, he does not abdicate his political responsibility. He recalled that he had already reported on the situation to the Verkhovna Rada. The head of the department is convinced that in any production there is a percentage of defects, and this cannot be avoided.
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