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In Ukraine, a U.S. Arms Dealer Is Making a Fortune and Testing Limits [1]

['Justin Scheck', 'Thomas Gibbons-Neff', 'More About Justin Scheck', 'More About Thomas Gibbons-Neff']

Date: 2023-09-09

A half-dozen or so men gathered last month for afternoon drinks at the penthouse bar of one of Kyiv’s swankiest hotels to discuss the lucrative business of arming Ukrainian troops.

The group included Ukrainian military and government officials, who are always in the market for explosive shells to lob at invading Russian soldiers. The center of attention was their gregarious host, a Florida-based arms contractor named Marc Morales, who regaled them with stories of his new $10 million yacht, the Trigger Happy, and his search for someone to manage his company’s nine-digit portfolio.

And joining the group was a stout, bearded man who served both the buyers and sellers: Vladimir Koyfman, a chief sergeant in the Ukrainian military whom Mr. Morales pays to arrange meetings with his government contacts. That unusual arrangement, legal experts say, tests the boundaries of American and Ukrainian corruption laws prohibiting payments to government officials.

The meeting, which was recounted by two people in attendance, offered a glimpse at a quiet aspect of the Biden administration’s war strategy. The administration has sent Ukraine more than $40 billion in security aid, including advanced weapons like HIMARS rockets and Patriot missiles. But the Pentagon also relies heavily on little-known arms dealers like Mr. Morales, who have the connections needed to secure ammunition, much of it lower-quality or Soviet-caliber, from around the world.

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[1] Url: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/09/world/europe/ukraine-military-arms-dealer-pentagon.html

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