Defence Minister to preserve his position thanks to President's decision

Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine's Minister of Defence, said that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made the decision to leave him in office after the recent corruption scandal in the ministry.

Source: The Guardian

Quote: When asked whether he planned to remain in the position of Minister of Defence in the coming months, Reznikov answered: "Yes, it was my president's decision."

Background:

• Viacheslav Shapovalov, Deputy Minister of Defence, resigned and was dismissed due to the scandal over food procurement for the Ukrainian military at inflated prices. Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, the head of the state procurement department at the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, who was involved in a food procurement scandal, has also been dismissed from his position. 
• Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal instructed the government to update the public procurement system for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which would provide for the publication of prices for products and goods.
• On 21 January, ZN.ua publication reported that the Ministry of Defence bought food for Ukrainian servicemen two to three times more expensive than in Kyiv stores. The December agreement with Activ Company was signed on behalf of the ministry by Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, who appeared in the case of embezzlement of 580,000 dollars during the purchase of military ammunition.

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