According to an investigation by several Ukrainian media, the Ministry of Defense signed a contract for the supply of uniforms with a Turkish company, the price of which tripled after signing.
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov on Monday dismissed fresh allegations of bribery in army supplies, as media denounced the purchase of uniforms at inflated prices during the Russian invasion.
According to a survey by several Ukrainian media, in the fall of 2022 the Ministry of Defense signed a contract with a Turkish company for the supply of winter uniforms, the price of which tripled after signing.
“Everything was done in accordance with the law”
Ukrainian journalists have also noted that winter uniforms can be bought in Turkey at prices well below what the ministry pays to this Turkish company, which they say is owned by Oleksandre Kassaï, a nephew of President Gennady Kassai Volodymyr Zelensky’s party.
Defense Minister Oleksiï Reznikov on Monday dismissed false accusations and assured that the prices asked correspond to the offers of the manufacturers in Turkey.
“I urge everyone to be more critical and responsible about information, because it misleads society and, even worse, it misleads our partners because from the outside it looks like a disaster,” Oleksiy Reznikov told a press conference .
“Everything was done in accordance with the law on public procurement” and “on tender procedures,” he said again.
Dismissal of regional officials responsible for recruiting military personnel
This is the second alleged corruption scandal related to army supplies for Ukraine’s defense ministry since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.
In late January, a number of senior Ukrainian officials were removed from their posts after the press revealed that a contract signed by the ministry to buy food for soldiers had actually been overstated.
Oleksiï Reznikov then admitted that his ministry’s anti-corruption services “did not do their job”.
In early August, all regional officials in charge of military recruitment were fired by Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a bid to stamp out a system of corruption that allowed conscripts in particular to flee the army.
Since the beginning of the year, more high-profile cases have come to light in Ukraine, a country where corruption was rife before the Russian invasion.