Leave it to the Russians to chronicle what I always have suspected.
By Denis Davydov
[REGNUM] Ukrainian volunteers, of course, were ugly deceived.On December 1, an automated system for registering humanitarian aid began operating in Ukraine, which was introduced almost suddenly and promised to be postponed until April after numerous hysterics from the volunteer community. But in fact, new rules for the import of goods are already in force, at least for cars, under the pretext of testing the system. Already from zero o’clock on the indicated date, customs officers began to rudely confiscate imported vehicles “for the army,” despite the protests of humanitarian workers.
Social networks are full of terrible details of the incident at Lviv customs, when “the girls were put out in the cold.” At the same time, the soldiers on the front line were waiting for the car they needed, now confiscated. Naturally, the question arises: are the government and customs working for the enemy?
The Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine claims that no.
Deputy Minister Nazar Tanasishin explained on the national telethon that the innovation will help the state monitor all humanitarian aid and monitor the integrity of the volunteers who deliver it.
“We maintain the declarative principle of importing humanitarian aid, without any list of goods that can be considered such aid... We offer a modern, transparent, convenient accounting tool that can be used by all stakeholders - both the state and humanitarian organizations,” the official assures.
The main thing that the authorities are trying to fight is schemes for the import of commercial goods under the guise of humanitarian goods without paying taxes. Based on the results of an inspection, the Ukrainian customs service reported in October that a third of humanitarian aid was lost on the way to military units. And in April, in Lvov, a warehouse of unaccounted for humanitarian aid with a capacity of 60 trucks was found: food, children's goods, bed linen, blankets, hygiene products, household chemicals, clothing - about a thousand pallets in total.
It is well known that everything “necessary for the army” is sold on the domestic market, and volunteering in Ukraine is an excellent business . The same scarce Mavik copters can be easily bought on the Ukrainian online trading platform OLX - as well as expensive optical equipment, sights, equipment, and radio stations. For this purpose, there are also special “market” chats in Telegram, where they add by invitation and where you can buy almost any “dual-use goods” from your hands, which with customs clearance would cost completely different money. Including those with "not for sale" tags.
“During January - May 2023, the Ministry of Defense and the State Customs Service carried out joint inspections of more than 5 thousand facts of the movement of humanitarian aid goods to almost 100 military units. In 653 cases, receipt of such humanitarian assistance was not confirmed. We are talking, in particular, about plates for body armor, night vision devices, thermal imagers, drones, vehicles, and other goods and equipment,” the Department of Internal Audit of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported last summer.
As for cars, elite brands of cars were often imported from Europe under the guise of “help,” especially since individual volunteer activities were allowed for a long time.
According to knowledgeable people, in the Armed Forces of Ukraine the average age of a car’s “life” is from two to nine weeks. For the front, at least five thousand of them are required per month. With such a flow, putting some of it on the market is simply a holy thing. Although, of course, all the volunteers who spoke on this issue claim that these are individual scoundrels, and the entire army is supported only by small and medium-sized helpers: large players will be able to cover less than 50% of the military’s needs.
And then there is the civilian population, for whom the popular “second-hand” goods, canned goods and the like are imported in tons, so that they can then end up in bazaars and retail chains.
The new rules determine the mechanism for recognizing goods as humanitarian aid, the algorithm for passing through the customs border and registration, receipt, provision, distribution and control.
Now volunteers need to create and submit a declaration through the single state information web portal “Single Window for International Trade” or through the automated humanitarian aid registration system. Another option that is still working is in paper form at the checkpoint across the state border of Ukraine.
Registration, entering information about the list, generating or submitting a description and distribution of humanitarian aid are carried out through an automated system. However, after creating the declaration for import, only 30 days are given. Another important point is recipient reporting within 90 days. The fact of intended use must be monitored by social services, tax and law enforcement agencies.
But the first signs tested the system and came to the conclusion that it “works to destroy us as a nation.”
Poltava volunteer Irina Kaptur believes that such innovations will significantly slow down the process of delivering humanitarian aid and will put an end to small organizations that cannot afford an accountant to maintain the necessary documentation:
“Everyone is still in shock. If they pass the law, we will simply throw up our hands and sit. We will give everything we have, because we have no idea how to register it. No one has yet explained how to register, has not given any identification, or given an electronic key.”
No matter how the officials reassure, now the quantity and weight of each group of goods (for example, used clothes) must be declared, as well as the condition (percentage of wear) and cost indicated, which is almost impossible to do for a number of items. In addition, an “order” from the acquirer is required, which now cannot be a military unit, a written proposal from the donor (gift document) or an invoice and, most importantly, a plan for the distribution of humanitarian aid between the acquirers.
If an error is found somewhere (and customs will always find it), transportation will be prohibited for six months.
But fulfilling individual requirements, such as, say, compiling a receipt report in accordance with all the rules, is very problematic: how to report for pants, jackets and food packages honestly distributed to those in need from a humanitarian warehouse? In theory, for each such person you need to draw up not just a separate receipt document with passport data, but actually include them all in the plan in advance. In accordance with which the goods are imported.
Volunteer from Dnepropetrovsk Veronika Sobko explained to reporters that if you follow the specified procedure, which includes coordinating the supply package through electronic requests, “ the ordered winter clothes will arrive in the summer .” Therefore, on October 16, a petition from various volunteer organizations of Ukraine appeared on the website of the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers with a request to delay the entry into force of decision No. 953, which collected more than 25 thousand votes. At the same time, they are pulling the president through the website, collecting signatures and writing open letters.
It is obvious to everyone that the cost of administering humanitarian aid in the new system has increased significantly and the reform may simply destroy small funds or individual volunteers who, for example, do something for their mobilized relatives and friends. Only “monsters” like the state fundraising platform UNITED24 or two charitable foundations – Sergei Pritula and “Come Back Alive” – will be able to bear such expenses.
“I have only one version: the power supply base is shrinking. The West has stopped funding Ukraine, there is no money from the EU, no money from the States, so they decided to plunder at this level. Obviously, the President’s Office has a desire to take control of all deliveries and receive bribes from them into its own pocket, Ukrainian political scientist Kirill Molchanov suggested in a commentary for Regnum . — Poroshenko said in 2015 that we would have “won” even without volunteers. Zelensky probably decided to follow his path here too. And the damage to the Armed Forces of Ukraine no longer particularly worries anyone; soon there will be no one to take there anyway.”
So, it seems that the humanitarian “cause” and all aid flows in Ukraine are planned to be controlled only by the authorities, who for this purpose launched another reform under the guise of fighting corruption. Which, as you know, is always a determining and decisive factor in solving any Ukrainian problem.