Jackets for Ukrainian army: Public council at Defence Ministry reports minor flaws

Yevhen Hrushovets, Head of the Public Anti-Corruption Council at the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, has admitted that the purchase of jackets for the Armed Forces was accompanied by "minor flaws", but insisted that the deal to purchase winter jackets was carried out in accordance with all necessary procedures. At the same time, the Anti-Corruption Council is going to find out whether the Turkish company is "connected with a representative of the authorities or the MPs".

Source: Svoboda.Ranok, a project of Radio Svoboda (Liberty)

Quote: "There are some minor flaws with these jackets; if I'm not mistaken, they concerned the labels. However, a commission was set up with the participation of the Logistics Forces Command and the Ministry of Defence Quality Control, and given the urgent need for these jackets for the winter season of 2022-2023, they were all accepted. Therefore, today the Public Anti-Corruption Council is planning to visit the warehouse or warehouses where these jackets are stored. We are communicating with the military. For me, there is no question whether these were summer or winter jackets. They were definitely winter jackets."

Details: Hrushovets said that the Public Anti-Corruption Council at the Ministry of Defence will also try to answer the question of whether the Turkish company is connected to a representative of the government or the MPs.

"This is of great importance. If it really was a plot, then it's one story, as it's corruption. If it wasn't a plot but assistance for the Ukrainian army to have these jackets, it is assistance to the Armed Forces. That is why we are trying to answer all these questions," he said.

Hrushovets also stressed that the Anti-Corruption Council found that the Ministry of Defence did not have the invoices that the journalists had at their disposal. "It is the invoices that contain the price in Turkish documents. Because these documents are submitted exclusively by the Turkish side when it ships the goods. And, basically, the Ministry of Defence should not have had these documents," he explained.

In addition, the public council is going to find out whether there was a corruption component in the price. However, he stressed, "we understand that it is impossible to buy a winter jacket for US$30."

At the same time, Hrushovets said, the issue of inflated prices does not concern the Ministry of Defence. "When contracts were signed there, the contract specified the price. And, given that this is a non-domestic product, how the manufacturer will declare this product in its country of origin, and then in the countries through which these jackets transited, it essentially doesn't concern the Ministry of Defence," he said.

Watch more on the topic  (with English subtitles): Servant of jackets for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Who is making money out of the war in Ukraine?

Background:

• On 10 August, the media outlet Dzerkalo Tyzhnia reported that in 2022, a Turkish company had sold summer jackets to the Armed Forces of Ukraine under the guise of winter jackets. The outlet’s website, ZN.UA, has a package of supporting documents for one of the batches of goods from Vector Avia. It shows how 4,900 jackets worth US$142,000 were transformed into 4,900 jackets worth US$421,000. On their way from Turkish to Ukrainian customs, the jackets gained in value from US$29 to US$86 per piece.
• At a meeting of the Anti-Corruption Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, it was reported that the scandal-ridden procurement of jackets and trousers for the Armed Forces involved a fake invoice scheme, that the supplier company was probably set up specifically for this supply, and that about 120,000 sets of uniforms are now in the hands of the military.
• Ukrainian Pravda found out that Vector Avia turned out to be co-owned by Oleksandr Kasai. He is the nephew of Hennadii Kasai, a Ukrainian MP and member of the Sluha Narodu (Servant of the People) party who sits on the Verkhovna Rada (Parliamentary) Committee for National Security, Defence and Intelligence.
• Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov responded to the accusations by offering Ukrainska Pravda journalist Mykhailo Tkach and MP Anastasiia Radina a wager. However, he did not comment on the fact that the co-owner of the Turkish company Vector Avia is the nephew of MP Kasai, nor could he explain "why some Turkish documents indicate the price of a winter jacket at US$29".
• Reznikov said that the Public Anti-Corruption Council at the Ministry of Defence was dealing with it.

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