Arctic Ukrainian Troops: Why does the Ministry of Defense buy frost -resistant fuel for the army

The boys found three thermal imaginary used, we quickly closed with money, literally they received them in the day and are already sending Vidosiki with "good ozi". (That's what I thought, when the restrictions on cards recalculate, send 150 thousand UAH will be another fun task). But I have another short question, or more precisely two: what kind of yach and hurt? He read that the GS was late for the Mavica, and AOP ("Defense Agency" - F.

) is now looking for where to buy, because the Chinese have screwed the crane. Everything in the market has burst out, so you have to take used. (We had good specimens). On the other hand, why I am surprised if the Ministry of Defense cannot be cited with elementary - with fuel purchases. For ten years, I will sit down, tell you. Someone once invented that the armies needed an arctic solar for the winter to keep up to minus 32 degrees.

And although I do not remember such frosts personally, every year the MO buys the Arctic, although in our latitudes it would be enough for the usual winter variety to minus 20. What is the nuance: if the winter variety produces all the refineries, then the Arctic - only a few. That is, the volume is limited, the price-bucks is 50-100/t higher. When November comes, the merchants of all Northern Europe, including ours, begin to hunt the Arctic. Due to demand price is maximum.

And here, at the same uncomfortable moment, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry with huge orders of the Arctic brand appears! For the awareness of the scale: last season 60 thousand tons of Arctic were imported, and the order of the MO-70-80 thousand tons! That's yes, for starters. Several seasons tenders were torn or the price flew to heaven, because to tear the right volume is almost unrealistic.

It seems that everyone, except for our MO, understand that winter will need fuel, so it is necessary to cook sled in the summer (in our case it is literally). But every year, the Ministry of Boron continues to declare tenders on the Arctic brand at the earliest time. People are changing, new specialized units are emerging (now it is a "state operator"), but the procurement policy is not changing. They invite "to talk", put the right questions, nod their heads and . . . do everything in the old way . . .

Here is a traditional tender for the Arctic again in November . . . What to do? At least, announce the tender in advance, in the summer. Let the traders look and contract. It will be more reliable and cheaper. Ideally, if the Arctic is needed, buy it in the spring when it is no longer needed and the price falls. And let it lie until the next season. And Duuuuza can simplify another solution - to give up the Arctic and move to the usual winter brand.

The overpayment on the Arctic per season is from 200 to 400 million UAH. Well, real, not extra money. Although I understand why there are no changes in the purchase of fuel. Because the Ministry of Defense is "Ukrnafta". It makes incredible dandelions that cover all the imperfection of the system and make the inaction and mistakes of MO officials invisible. Unlike MO, Ukrnafta knows that winter will be.

As far as I know, this year the company has started negotiations with Polish Orlen in the summer about future Arctic deliveries. And in reality, "Ukrnafta" takes every second liter of Arctic that enters the country. Such a pace in December can be fulfilled. Judging by the available information, the market price is sometimes similar to the "commercial" volumes that take OKKO and WOG. Standard and Arctic Quality Award - $ 80/T (about 10% of the winter brand value).

Without exaggeration, by sectoral measures - it is a higher pilot. And all because everything is planned, without the inherent officials of the rake . . . Because why change something, if everything is so cool? And then you can also tell you how much saved on the fuel with a hint of your involvement. In fact, there is no progress unless you notice the nationalization of Ukrnafta. I will say more, there is a regression, and has tried here, probably, the Cabinet of Ministers.

Ukrnafta is good, but a strategic consumer system cannot stand on one leg. What did the Cabinet invent in the spring of 2022? To oblige suppliers to sell goods without VAT. I do not know how others are overcome, and in the supply of fuel it immediately turned away almost all private traders. After all, you have to remove hundreds of millions from working capital without clear returns.

And those who could still agree are distracted by a bunch of rudiments that none of the purchasers of the MO want to correct. For example, to declare a tender with the supply of a huge amount of fuel with a term . . . two weeks. This is not even enough to regulate fuel and get funding, not to mention delivery. There are also Soviet requirements for fuel quality, such as the ignition temperature. All available equipment is completely quietly consumed by the Euro-5 standard with a flash of 55-60 degrees.

But MO requires "Soviet" 62 degrees, because this parameter was then introduced for use on ships. There are no ships, and the requirement remained… The fuel by such an outdated standard is not produced by all the refineries, which narrows the circle of suppliers, complicates purchase and beats at price. Some manufacturers simply do not guarantee that they will fall into 62, and the deviation of the MO may refuse to take this fuel and soldered a huge fine. Plus reputational risks.

Therefore, no one wants to supply. In addition to Ukrnafta, because there is nowhere to go. I can only imagine how many such vestiges are in those army purchases and how much they cost us. But the Ministry of Defense has "Ukrnafta", so with fuel everything is good. It is only a pity that there is no other charming "Ukrmavik" . . . The author expresses a personal opinion that may not coincide with the editorial position. The author is responsible for published data in the "Thought" section.