Why complaints about food in the army are no longer widespread?
Problems with nutrition in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which were often the subject of complaints in the past, are now mostly resolved. Currently, such appeals are isolated and not systemic.
This was stated by the military ombudsman Olga Reshetilova in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
Read also: What Ukrainian soldiers eat: the Ministry of Defense revealed the composition of the ration and the difference between dry rations
Main points:
- Systematic solution: Nutrition issues in the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been fully addressed at the state level.
- Isolated complaints: Over a year and a half of the military ombudsman’s work, only a few specific complaints have been recorded.
- Local difficulties: Temporary food problems arose only in certain units due to infrastructure destruction.
- New requests: Instead of complaints about food, soldiers more often report shortages of equipment.
Are there still complaints?
According to her, problems with food supply are more characteristic of 2014 than of 2022. The state has now managed to systematically resolve this issue.
“Regarding food supply, this is precisely an example of how the state of Ukraine has managed to address this issue at a systemic level. And this is truly something we can be proud of,” she noted.
Reshetilova added that during visits to the troops, her team sometimes eats even better than at home.
Where do problems arise?
In a year and a half of the ombudsman’s work, there were only a few complaints, and all were specific. In particular, it was about situations where it was difficult to organize food preparation at the level of individual units.
One such case occurred at a training center that was subjected to a missile attack – there, the infrastructure was destroyed, making it difficult to establish food supply.
Overall, according to the ombudsman, this issue has already been resolved.
What complaints remain?
At the same time, soldiers are raising other issues. In particular, instructors at training centers complain about the lack of equipment and simulation ammunition.
For example, there is a shortage of cartridges for pump-action shotguns, which are actively used to take down FPV drones.
However, such appeals are isolated and do not even form separate statistics.
Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported on the exposure of a corruption scheme regarding food supplies for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. An official, along with entrepreneurs, supplied the military with substandard and incomplete food volumes, receiving “kickbacks” of up to 50% of the cost. He was detained, charged, and property worth millions of hryvnias was seized.
We also reported that an official involved in embezzlement spent the funds on a lavish lifestyle – in particular, he bought elite real estate in Bali and expensive items. The total value of his assets exceeds 10 million hryvnias.
