On January 16, during a meeting of the Anti-Corruption Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, amendments to the charters of the Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) and State Logistics Operator (SLO) were discussed, initiated by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. Committee members, particularly its chair Anastasia Radina, highlighted the illegality of these changes and the risks they pose to defense procurement, as reported by the Center for Counteracting Corruption.

Subscribe to our Viber: news, humor, and entertainment!

Subscribe

According to the head of the anti-corruption committee, the proposed amendments violate the principles of independence for supervisory boards. "I maintain that the changes to the charters of both the DPA and SLO are illegal... The amendments directly infringe upon the exclusive competence of the supervisory boards," stated Anastasia Radina.

The meeting included leaders from the Ministry of Defense, representatives from the DPA, SLO, and the Public Anti-Corruption Council. The head of the supervisory board of the DPA, Yuri Djigir, emphasized that the changes involve transferring key powers from the supervisory boards to the Ministry of Defense. This could lead to "manual management" of the largest defense budget in the country, which exceeds 550 billion hryvnias.

Experts believe that the decision made by the minister jeopardizes not only the reforms in defense procurement but also the supply of weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

It is known that the amendments introduced by Umerov allow the minister to change the heads of agencies, members of supervisory boards, and other officials at his discretion. Furthermore, this enables influence over contract agreements with arms suppliers or the blocking of multimillion payments on already signed contracts.

Popular articles now Mobilization of women: who will serve in the near future At least 1180 UAH: which pensioners may receive an allowance Until April 30: Ukrainians warned about new electricity tariffs Pensions will increase for retirees in spring: who will see heavier wallets Show more

A critical situation may arise as early as this month, as the contract of the head of the DPA is set to expire. If the charters are not aligned with the law, the operations of the largest defense procurement agency will be paralyzed. This will also threaten the fulfillment of existing contracts, potentially leading to lawsuits.

Previously, the supervisory boards publicly criticized the amendments and appealed to the Ministry of Defense demanding the cancellation of these provisions. However, during the meeting, ministry representatives avoided discussing personnel issues.

The Anti-Corruption Committee of the Verkhovna Rada announced the preparation of a draft law aimed at ensuring the independence of defense agencies and preventing further violations in this area.