Arms manufacturers claim major debts under the 'E-balls' program: Ministry of Defense promises to pay
Ukrainian defense manufacturers have faced payment delays for equipment already delivered to the military under the "E-balls" program. According to the Ukrainian Council of Arms Manufacturers, debts to individual companies range from 24 million UAH to hundreds of millions of hryvnias. The Ministry of Defense confirmed the delays and assured that all due payments will be made.
Executive Director of the Ukrainian Council of Arms Manufacturers Ihor Fedirko reported the problem on September 11. According to him, the situation is most painful for small manufacturers, for whom delayed payments are funds for salaries, purchase of components, and production of next batches of equipment. Some companies have already faced difficulties with paying wages.
According to Fedirko, the delays concern supplies under the "E-balls" program. The problem arose after a change in budget legislation, which introduced additional approval of directions for using part of defense funds with the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence.
Amendments to Article 28 of the state budget law came into force on June 24. They stipulate that directions for using the relevant military personal income tax (PIT) funds of the Ministry of Defense and the State Service of Special Communications must be agreed with the relevant parliamentary committee.
The committee itself stated that it does not approve individual contracts, purchases, or specific payments to manufacturers. In its version, the Ministry of Defense had to submit documents regarding general directions for using funds, but the necessary materials reached the parliament only on September 10 - more than two and a half months after the new rules came into effect.
The committee promised to consider the issue as a priority at the next scheduled meeting. At the same time, it emphasized that "E-balls" funding is not limited to military PIT funds: other budget programs and articles of the Ministry of Defense that do not require such approval are also provided for the program.
The Ministry of Defense, for its part, explains the problem more broadly. The agency called the delays technical and reported that refinancing of the program is planned from loan funds of the European Union, which requires additional procedures. Another factor cited by the ministry is planned changes to the point system itself.
The Ministry of Defense assured that funding for "E-balls" is provided until the end of the year, and all due payments for already delivered equipment will be made. The agency did not give specific deadlines for repaying the accumulated debt.
The scale of the program has grown significantly over the past year. After the integration of "E-balls" with Brave1 Market, the military ordered over 750,000 units of drones, electronic warfare (EW) systems, ground robotic complexes, and other equipment worth over 51.9 billion UAH. The cost of already delivered equipment is approaching 40 billion UAH, and over 400 units have used the program. The average delivery time for goods in stock is 7-10 days.
"E-balls" allow combat units to receive points for confirmed results and exchange them through Brave1 Market for necessary equipment. The unit effectively chooses the needed drones, EW systems, robotic complexes, and other equipment, while the state pays suppliers to manufacturers.
Sources: Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, RBC-Ukraine (Lev Shevchenko)
