Ukraine tightens procurement of weapons after graft shakeup
>> KYIV: Ukraine’s Defence Ministry has overhauled its procurement system and boosted cooperation with Nato eight months after corruption allegations led to a shakeup in its leadership, a top security official said.
Last September, President Volodymyr Zelensky replaced Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov after accusations of graft in military procurement by subordinates on his watch prompted public outrage and criticism from wartime allies. Yuriy Dzhygyr, a deputy defence minister, said a new vetted procurement system has helped “liquidate corruption risks”.
Russia’s invasion has “highlighted a number of specific corruption risks in the department”, Mr Dzhygyr said in a written response to Bloomberg News.
Corruption remains a concern for Ukraine’s wartime allies as they contribute weapons and funding to help stave off Russia’s attack. Donors including the IMF and EU have demanded a raft of anti-graft measures as a central condition for assistance.
Ukraine’s agriculture minister last month became the country’s first cabinet member to be detained as part of a crackdown tied to corruption allegations. Last year, Mr Zelensky also fired all of the army’s top draft officers following media reports of graft.
The sweep has led to a “two-stage mechanism” in procurement at the Defence Ministry, Mr Dzhygyr said. The ministry sets procurement policies, controls and checks quality, while two state companies oversee procurement in an effort to scale back potential risks, he said.
The Kyiv-based ministry also bolstered its involvement in a Nato programme to help countries advance defence reforms and meet anti-corruption commitments, he said. Mr Dzhygyr, who consulted on public finance reform in Ukraine and abroad before joining the ministry in September, said accounting firm KPMG will evaluate in-house auditing to improve risk management and compliance.
Ukraine ranked 104 out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index in 2023, though it climbed up from 116th place the year before, putting it on par with Brazil and Serbia.
On the defence budget, Mr Dzhygyr said the cost for Kyiv’s mobilisation drive aimed at bolstering its depleted military ranks will depend on monthly conscription levels — a factor of incoming aid — and rotation decisions. He put the cost for maintaining one soldier without weapons at 1.2 million hryvnia (1.1 million baht).
The ministry is also working with US counterparts as part of an effort to address concerns over how Ukrainian forces are storing and deploying Western ammunition, Mr Dzhygyr said, citing six inspections at military facilities that looked into how certain types of weapons were stored.
“The process is on, it has become a routine now,” he said. “The mechanism is working.”