Monday17 February 2025
manipulyator.in.ua

The head of the Anti-Corruption Committee of the Rada opposed the decisions made by the Minister of Defense.

Anastasia Radina stated that Defense Minister Rustem Umerov should resign.
Глава Антикоррупционного комитета Рады выразила несогласие с решениями министра обороны.

The Head of the Anti-Corruption Policy Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, Anastasia Radina, stated that Defense Minister Rustem Umerov should resign due to the scandal surrounding the Defense Procurement Agency and interference in the workings of the Supervisory Board of the Agency. Radina wrote this on her Facebook page.

According to Radina, the independent Supervisory Board of the Defense Procurement Agency was established by Minister Umerov on December 17, 2024, and in its first month of existence, it managed to make only one decision – to extend the contract with the current head of the Agency.

"However, the decision turned out to be so independent that it outraged the Defense Minister," Radina emphasized.

As a result, on January 24, 2025, the minister decided to "recall" Yuri Dzhigira and Taras Chmut from the Supervisory Board – arguably the most respected experts on military procurement in Ukraine.

"Does this mean that the minister plans to 'restart' the Supervisory Board of the Agency until only those who are completely willing to follow the ministry's directives remain?" – poses a reasonable question from the head of the Anti-Corruption Committee of the Verkhovna Rada.

However, as it is known, the removal of the Supervisory Board members was not the end of the matter – Minister Umerov went even further and independently made the decision to appoint a new head of the Agency.

"I believe that such actions undermine the reform of defense procurement and signify manual interference in the procurement processes. It does not matter who will be in the 'new Supervisory Board', nor does it matter who will lead the agencies going forward – the minister has clearly shown that he can indicate the door to these people with just a stroke of a pen at any moment," noted Radina.

According to the people's deputy, Umerov should resign.

"A minister who breaks the law; who extends unfulfilled military contracts with his decisions; whose internal department as of November 2024, alongside the Agency, has failed to fulfill more than half of the contracts (signed back in 2022-2023!); who cannot simplify the bureaucracy of contract approvals and is destroying the trust of a warring country in the Ministry of Defense – should also submit a resignation letter.

The Ministry of Defense during wartime should be managed by a person for whom legality, transparency, and accountability are not just empty words," Radina concluded.