At least six Ukrainian officials were sacked this Wednesday, along with 13 other decision-makers who had already been removed on Tuesday on charges of corruption related to supplies, mainly food, to the military.
The Prosecutor General of Ukraine announced in a statement on Wednesday that the departure “at their own request” of five prosecutors from the regions of Zaporijia (south), Kirovograd (center), Poltava, Sumy and Cherniguiv (north).
The head of the army’s procurement department, Bodgan Khmelnytsky, was also fired this Wednesday after being suspended in December, Ukraine’s defense minister Oleksiy Reznikov said in a post on the social network Facebook.
This Wednesday’s layoffs came a day after a series of resignations and layoffs that saw the ousting of five regional governors, four deputy ministers and two heads of a government agency, as well as the deputy director of the presidential administration and the deputy attorney general. the Republic.
The renovation was prompted by a scandal involving a contract signed by the Ministry of Defense at an allegedly too high price for the supply of food products for the military.
According to the chairman of the anti-corruption committee of the Ukrainian parliament, Anastassia Ardina, the Defense Department admitted on Wednesday that there were “mistakes” in the contract, guaranteeing “price revisions” will be made to correct them.
Reznikov had initially said the scandal was based on “baseless allegations” under “false pretences”, but this Wednesday the ministry announced on the Telegram messaging network that reform of the army’s food system is underway.
Not all layoffs are related to this scandal and some were caused by suspicions of other crimes.
This is Ukraine’s first known major corruption case since the Russian invasion, which began in February 2022, and comes as Kiev’s western allies prepare to send modern tanks and other military aid.
Before the war, the country was regularly rocked by similar corruption scandals.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that his government’s reshuffles are necessary to “approach the European institutions” and assured that he will “continue to take appropriate measures”.
“All internal problems that hinder the state are being removed and will be removed. It is fair, it is necessary for our defense and help in our rapprochement with the European institutions,” the Ukrainian head of state stressed in his daily night address to the nation.
On Monday, the National Security and Defense Council banned travel for Ukrainian officials traveling outside the country “for vacation or for any other non-governmental purpose.”
Source: DN
