MoD’s Exhausted Ukraine Staff Told To Work ‘faster And Better’
“EXHAUSTED” Ministry of Defence staff tasked with delivering aid to Ukraine have been told they need to work even harder.
The order comes as the UK passes the milestone of delivering 1,000 batches of military kit and weaponry to the country since the Russian invasion in 2022.
So far some 40 million individual items, ranging from helmets and Kevlar vests to missiles and tanks, have been handled by the Mod’s Defence Equipment & Support agency.
But Its ceo Andy Start issued his call for staff to work “even harder” on his return from the war-torn country.
He was part of Taskforce Hirst, a trade mission of representatives from the MoD, the Department for Business and Trade, and defence trade association ADS, which held meetings with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and representatives of their defence industry.
DE&S employs over 12,500 civil servants and military personnel in more than 150 countries around the world.
Last night, sources at its Bristol HQ told how the relentless pace of aid delivery has meant that many have missed leave to meet targets.
“Frankly, we are exhausted. the pace is unrelenting,” said one source. “We work long hours, including weekends, to meet deadlines.
“To be told we are not working fast enough is a bitter pill. But we will press on.”
So far, the total value of military aid from the UK to Ukraine has exceeded £5 billion, and will reach £7.6 billion by the end of the financial year.
Writing in the agency’s internal Desider magazine, Mr Start branded his recent visit as “sobering”.
“We are proud of our successes but, at the same time, we know we can do better,” said the senior civil servant.
He said the focus is now “speeding-up and streamlining our processes, revamping our structure, strengthening our culture and improving how we deploy resources.”
He added: “I was given a first-hand reminder of the immediate need for Defence to increase the speed and scale we operate at when I visited Ukraine.
“It was a sobering visit, meeting our allies, working with our cross-government and industry partners, and hearing from the inspirational President Zelensky.
“It all served to reinforce the importance of making sure we are set up to deliver faster and better.” (continues…)
The visit follows the signing of a major agreement in July, which will enable Ukraine to harness the power of UK industry by drawing on £3.5bn worth of export finance to purchase further military capabilities.
While in Kyiv, Armed Forces minister Luke Pollard, who led the visit, signed agreements with Ukrainian officials for a range of complex weapons and land systems support, which will be passed on to defence companies in Britain.
“The UK’s support for Ukraine is ironclad. Our flourishing defence-industrial relationship symbolises the work happening across Government and the private sector to ramp-up and speed-up our support,” he said.
“By deepening our ties with Ukraine’s defence industry, we are expanding our own industrial capacity, while boosting Ukraine’s own capabilities.
“We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine and we will provide support for as long as it takes.”
However, former defence secretary Ben Wallace has claimed that Britain’s political leadership of the Ukraine issue has now “dropped back”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s today: “The leadership Britain showed right from the start has started to drop back into the pack. My experience is if you want to drive things, you have to really do it every single day.”
Ukrainian officials have also revealed that relations have become “worse” since Sir Keir Starmer took power in July.
They bemoaned the fact the PM had yet to visit and said such a visit would amount to “tourism” without a commitment to replenish stocks of storm shadow missiles.
