Ukraine's Defence Ministry establishes state logistics operator to buy food for Armed Forces

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence has created a "new tool" for food procurement for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, an agency known as the State Logistics Operator, which will become fully operational on 1 December.

Source: Dmytro Klimenkov, Deputy Defence Minister of Ukraine, at a briefing on 1 November, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine

Quote: "From December of this year, the State Logistics Operator will manage all Defence Ministry procurement. This is our new procurement tool, which will take full charge of all functions."

Details: The agency’s employees will analyse the market and prices, talk directly with suppliers, assess them, and analyse their work.

"They are already studying the market and getting ready. As I said, the agency will be fully operational on 1 December. As of today, they are de facto putting their team together," Klimenkov stated.

The Defence Ministry added that it was expecting the Cabinet of Ministers to approve two resolutions very soon, after which "the logistics procurement agency will start operating de jure at 100% [of its capacity]".

Klimenkov added that today, 1 November, the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine announced a tender for food procurement for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

He noted that this time, the tender is to supply food for three months instead of six, that is, from January to March.

"And our goal is to fundamentally change the approach and the process of procurement in the rear. This will be totally different procurement with a different logic," Klimenkov stressed.

Update: The Ministry of Defence says Arsen Zhumadilov has been appointed general director of the State Logistics Operator.

As previously reported by Ukrainska Pravda, Zhumadilov hopes to make the agency the key logistics operator for the Armed Forces of Ukraine with transparent tenders, planning and quality control. 

Background: On 31 October, journalist Yurii Nikolov, author of a high-profile investigation published in Ukrainian media outlet Dzerkalo Tyzhnia (Mirror of the Week) in January 2023, reported that the Audit Chamber had approved the results of the audit of the Ministry of Defence, which fully confirmed the information unearthed by the journalistic investigation regarding the significant inflation of prices for food for the military.

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