Ukrainian authorities have announced a new dismissal within the Ministry of Defense following the corruption scandal concerning the alleged purchase of military rations at inflated prices by the Ministry of Defense, after the president, Volodimir Zelenski, dismissed more than a dozen governors, deputy ministers and even a deputy advisor.
The head of the Anti-Corruption Committee of the Ukrainian Parliament, Anastasia Radina, has pointed out through her account on the social network Facebook that the director of the Defense Ministry’s Procurement Department, Bohdan Jmelnitski, «has been dismissed,» as was Deputy Defense Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov.
He also noted that Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov has confirmed that the delivery of food to servicemen «is carried out on the basis of contracts from last year.» «Together with colleagues, we will review documents and prices,» he noted, before pointing to a «reform of the system of procurement of supplies for the Army.»
Zelenski on Tuesday described as «necessary» the decision to dismiss more than a dozen senior officials in the wake of these scandals. «All internal issues that hinder the state are being eliminated and will continue to be eliminated. It is fair, it is necessary for our defense, and it helps our rapprochement with the European institutions,» he said.
Ukraine has been the scene in the past of numerous corruption cases and Transparency International ranked it 122nd out of 180 in 2021 in its corruption perception survey. The fight against such crimes is also one of the key demands of the European Union (EU) in the framework of the process for its possible accession to the bloc, something firmly rejected by Russia.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
