MOSCOW. Aug 6 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian military command is concerned over the growing theft of fuel and lubricants from the Armed Forces, a source in the General Staff told Interfax- Military News Agency on Tuesday.
"More than 16,000 tonnes of fuel worth RUB118m (USD3.74m) were stolen in 2001. The scale of theft does not decline this year," the source said.
From January to June 2002 alone, more than 10,000 tonnes of fuel worth RUB75m (USD2.38m) were stolen. "Theft and illegal use of fuel takes place against the background of allocation of an extremely limited amount of oil product to the Defense Ministry," the source stressed.
According to him, fuel theft is flourishing at aviation and technical bases, as well as at Air Force battalions and aircraft commandant's offices. About 8,000 tonnes of fuel worth nearly RUB60m (USD1.9m) have been stolen from the above-mentioned military organizations this year.