Ukraine’s Defense Ministry rejects new accusations of corruption related to military supplies to its forces
Ukraine’s defense minister on Monday rejected new allegations of corruption related to military supplies to his forces, after media reports emerged of the purchase of military clothing at inflated prices in light of the war with Russia.
According to several media reports, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense signed a contract late last year with a Turkish company to purchase winter military clothing, but the price tripled after the signing of the deal.
Ukrainian journalists also concluded that these winter clothes can be bought in Türkiye at much lower prices than those on which the deal was concluded.
They also revealed that one of the owners of the Turkish company is Oleksandr Kasai, the nephew of Gennady Kasai, a member of the same party as President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov slammed the accusations as false, saying the prices included in the deal corresponded to those advertised.
“I urge everyone to treat information more critically and responsibly, because it misleads society and, even worse, misleads our partners, as from the outside it can be said that it’s a disaster,” Reznikov told a press conference.
He emphasized that everything was done in accordance with the Public Procurement Law and by conducting tenders.
A previous corruption scandal related to army supplies led to the dismissal of senior Ukrainian officials from their posts in January, after media outlets revealed that the Ministry of Defense signed a contract to buy foodstuffs for soldiers at inflated prices.
At the time, Reznikov admitted that his ministry’s anti-corruption agencies had failed in their mission.
At the beginning of August, Zelensky, as part of an anti-corruption campaign, sacked all regional officials responsible for military conscription after allowing some conscripts to escape military service.
Since the beginning of the year, several cases of graft have been recorded in a country where corruption is rampant, prompting the European Union to insist that Kiev take strict measures before considering joining the bloc.
