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Ukrainian Weapons Fund Has Spent Less Than 10% of Its Cash

The fund, designed to arm Kyiv “at pace,” has been running for almost a year.

Hundreds of millions of dollars earmarked to buy weapons for Ukraine haven’t been spent because of delays impacting a fund created by the British Defense Ministry, according to a report. The International Fund for Ukraine, which was set up as a “low-bureaucracy” aid effort alongside several other European countries to supply weapons to Kyiv “at pace” is worth around $986 million. But almost a year after it was established, the U.K. government has only signed six contracts worth about $82 million, according to The Times. “It hasn’t been as fast as we would have liked,” a government source told the newspaper. “There’s been hundreds of bids from different companies and not all of them have been serious. Buying off the shelf is fairly easy, but we’re trying to create a sustainable supply line to keep Ukraine armed for years ahead and that takes a bit longer.”