Operations Director of Milikon UA \u200b\u200bLLC Dmitry Stetsenko, in an interview with Ukrainian News, told why Masada Armor body armor never made it to the front and where they are now.

Let us recall that earlier it was reported that the co-founder of the Kvartal 95 studio, Timur Mindich, was suspected of creating a criminal organization, money laundering and illegal influence on the ex-Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov. According to the investigation, Mindich allegedly tried to get the State Logistics Operator to illegally accept body armor that had not passed quality control.

As Stetsenko said, the process turned out to be overly complex and bureaucratic. After receiving the certificate of conformity, the company took part in a tender for the supply of 10 thousand body armor. According to him, Milikon UA \u200b\u200boffered the lowest price, passed all checks and concluded an agreement. After this, the manufacturer produced the first batches, and a total of 5 thousand bulletproof vests were imported to Ukraine, officially cleared through customs and transferred to the control samples stage.

It was after the transfer of control samples, according to Stetsenko, that problems began with the Ministry of Defense structures that are responsible for quality assessment. At first, the company received minor comments, which they promptly corrected, but later the requirements began to change dramatically and became technically impossible to meet..

" For example, “the line is stitched in the wrong place”. We asked: \? “They answered us: “No, it doesn’t affect it, but according to the standards it should be that way.”. That is, the requirement is purely formal. We even found a factory in Ukraine that remade all the small sewing aspects. But then much more serious complaints appeared - a demand to change the design of the slab. And this is production. This cannot be done " We do not have a production license. Masada - in Israel. And the export of military goods in wartime is prohibited by law. That is, Ukraine cannot send them back either. In fact, the situation has reached a dead end,” he says..

He also added that according to the law, the company has no right either to return body armor to the manufacturer or to sell them in Ukraine..

" On each bulletproof vest it is written that it is the property of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Any implementation somewhere is a criminal liability,” he says.

According to Stetsenko, after the contract was terminated by the State Logistics Operator, the entire batch of Masada Armor body armor simply lies in the warehouse.

" I'm not saying they're perfect - there are nuances. But these are nuances of the “line two millimeters in the wrong place” level. This is a complex textile product. But by and large they are made with high quality.. I don’t hide them, I’m ready to show them to anyone live. And yes, they could be at the front, but today they are just lying in a warehouse,” he says.

He added that now one of the few legal options may be the manufacturer’s decision to donate these body armor to Ukraine.