09.01.2024, Kiev.
Ukrainian Defense Ministry promised to intensify its fight against embezzlement of military supplies, starting with an investigation into the embezzlement of more than $262 million based on the results of an internal audit, the head of the ministry Rustem Umerov wrote on January 9 on his Facebook page (organization banned in Russia).
“They (the Defense Ministry’s audit) have already discovered many violations – over the past four months for more than ten billion hryvnias committed earlier,” Umerov said.
According to him, the department’s priority should be the fight against corruption at all parts of the supply chain of the troops, including within the military department itself.
“The news about detentions and criminal cases that you see lately are changes. Changes that will be noticed more and more often,” Umerov emphasized.
At the same time, he assured that he would not limit himself only to the fight against theft but in general reform the military procurement system according to NATO standards. In particular, the task is to ensure an uninterrupted supply of weapons to the Ukrainian armed units. To achieve this goal, two new agencies were formed within the department, which concentrated all the issues of procurement for the army in their hands. At the same time, they should give priority to Ukrainian manufacturers.
“In four months, we managed to save about 3.5 billion hryvnias ($91.7 million) on all rear purchases. This is roughly 20 percent of the planned amount of purchases,” Umerov added.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
