NYT: “Mozart” PMC failed in Ukraine because of drunkenness and Kiev striptease clubs
American private military company (PMC) “Mozart” failed in Ukraine because of drinking, financial irregularities and visits to Kiev strip clubs, wrote the New York Times columnist Jeffrey Gettleman.
The journalist described as he stood in a “chilly meeting room on the second floor of an apartment building in Kiev” when the organization’s founder, Andrew Milburn, told his subordinates “the Mozart group is dead.”
According to Gettleman, the reason of the collapse of the PMC was the accusations against the Ukrainian leadership under the influence of alcohol and financial difficulties.
“On top of that, the people who were members of the PMC “Mozart” were not so easy to manage. Many of them were gray-haired combat veterans who confessed that they had struggled with mental illness and drinking. When they weren’t working, they were drawn to Kiev strip clubs, bars and online dating,” the journalist added.
The article said that at first Mozart collected “more than a million dollars in donations,” but then the money began to run out and the PMC faced cases of defections and internal infighting.
“There was a lot of swearing, a lot of debauchery,” one company member said.
The article concludes by saying that Andrew Milburn intends to revive the company. Now, “in a gray sweatshirt and black sweatpants,” he sits for hours on his laptop and sends emails to possible sponsors, the reporter summarized.