Ukraine's Missing Missiles: Jane's Information Group Online

[JohnOneillsMemory]

http://www.janes.com/security/international_security/news/jid/jid040617_1_n.shtml

Ukraine's missing missiles:

Since March, Ukraine's defence minister, Yevhen Marchuk, has been searching for missing missiles and other weapons that could have fallen into terrorist hands or been sold to rogue states. JID investigates why this potentially catastrophic situation is only now being brought to light.

When Marchuk became defence minister in June 2003 he ordered two inventories that indicated US$170m of military stock was probably missing. These results were so shocking that Marchuk ordered a new team of investigators to conduct an additional check using different methods. They uncovered that additional equipment, worth $20m, was missing.

The sheer scale of what appears to be missing equipment is astounding, as demonstrated by just one example. In 1990-1991, on the eve of the break up of the Soviet Union, 1,942 S-185 rockets were delivered to the Zhytomir military base, west of Kiev. These rockets were to be dismantled.

In fact, only 488 of the 1,942 rockets can actually be accounted for. The missiles could have been sold to unknown groups or countries. Or their scrap metal, gold, platinum and silver could have been sold separately with the proceeds being transferred to offshore accounts.

"We are looking for several hundred missiles. They have already been decommissioned, but we cannot find them," complained Marchuk.

[gasperc]

1. maybe they are in Iraq...there is alot of bad stuff in Iraq

just ask Bush and Cheney

silly complaint Mr. Marchuk, really

[Robb]

2. Let's not forget who we can thank for this

Remember the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program for Ukraine was budgeted at $521 million in 1999. FY 2002 calls for $51 million. :eyes:

Say what you want about Cohen, but he understood you had to overpay folks in poor parts of the world to dismantle nuclear weapons and components to keep them off the black market.