Zelenskyy on Defence Procurement Agency scandal: defence minister understands that interruptions in army supplies are unacceptable
Pravda Ukraine
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, commenting on the conflict between the management of the Defence Procurement Agency and Defence Minister Rustem Umierov, said that the minister has the right to do everything to ensure that there is no interruption in the supply of weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with Associated Press
Quote: “We have a minister of defence who clearly understands that, God forbid, there will be any interruptions somewhere from anyone in supporting our military: from drones to air defence, there will be not only military losses, there will be civilian losses, children will suffer, there will be more strikes, Russia will be stronger. He cannot make a single pause in the supply. He has a contract.
If he has institutional problems with this, with signing contracts, with deliveries, or, God forbid, we see a signal to reduce some support for our Armed Forces. God forbid, I receive some information that some institution from the defence minister’s chain of command is not signing contracts for the artillery packages coming in… There must be no pauses in urgent decisions.
Therefore, the Minister of Defence has the right to do everything to ensure that there is no slowdown in supplies. Today, all our money is in the Ministry of Defence. All our money is in our army. And if there is money there, and some delivery has not come, then, frankly, he must do everything to prevent such problems from happening again… And he is doing it.”
Background:
- Maryna Bezrukova, head of the state-owned Defence Procurement Agency (DPA), appealed to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to intervene in the ongoing conflict surrounding the agency.
- The DPA’s supervisory board resolved to extend Bezrukova’s contract for another year, but the Ministry of Defence refused to approve this decision. Bezrukova was suspended pending an internal investigation, and Arsen Zhumadilov from the State Logistics Operator was appointed as acting head.
- On 31 January, the Ministry of Justice clarified the statuses of the heads of the Defence Procurement Agency, where roles have been constantly changing. The ministry stated that Bezrukova retains the status of head but is suspended, while Zhumadilov is serving as the acting head.
Support UP or become our patron!