Deputy Minister of Defence resigns due to food procurement scandal

Viacheslav Shapovalov, Deputy Minister of Defence, has resigned due to the scandal over food procurement for the Ukrainian military at inflated prices.

Source: Ukraine's Ministry of Defence

Quote: "Viacheslav Shapovalov, who was in charge of Ukraine's Armed Forces' rear support, requested dismissal in order to avoid jeopardising the stable support of Ukraine's Armed Forces as a result of the food procurement accusation campaign.

The Minister of Defence has granted Shapovalov's request for his dismissal from the position of deputy."

Details: Oleksii Reznikov, Minister of Defence, has submitted a corresponding proposal to the Cabinet of Ministers.

The Ministry of Defence has noted that Shapovalov worked "with maximum responsibility" and that "despite fierce resistance", he was able "not only to adjust the current work in the critical conditions of the war, when the army has increased many times", but also "to implement a number of reforms".

Among which, in particular, are the curbing of the monopoly of the food service of the Armed Forces, the destruction of the monopoly in the fuel and lubricants supply sector, the creation of a "safety margin" of a quarter of a million body armours and more than 150,000 helmets, as well as uniforms and other items of physical support for soldiers.

Background: 

• Earlier, Zn.ua, referring to the agreement of the Ministry of Defence on the procurement of food, reported that the ministry purchases food for servicemen at a cost two- to three-times higher than that in Kyiv stores. The Ministry of Defence called this information a lie and manipulation and promised to contact the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU).
• In mid-January, the State Bureau of Investigation announced that it had blocked a scheme for large-scale looting of food for the military.
• Davyd Arahamiia, Head of the Servant of the People political party, said that the corrupt officials will be held accountable, and announced that "active landings" will take place this spring.
• Oleksii Reznikov, Minister of Defence, rejected the Ministry of Defence's accusation of corrupt procurement, linked the emergence of information about tenders to the Ramstein Defence Contact Group, and said that the person responsible for the leak of information would be punished.
• The Verkhovna Rada [Parliament of Ukraine – ed.] announced that they are going to establish a law that will make purchases during martial law more transparent.
• The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine said it is investigating alleged abuses by the Ministry of Defence in the procurement of food for the military as part of a criminal investigation that began before it was published in the media.

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