New senior Ukrainian officials were dismissed from their posts on Wednesday January 25, the day after a series of dismissals even in the presidential administration against the backdrop of a corruption scandal linked to the supply of the army.
The Ukrainian General Prosecutor's Office announced in a press release the departure "
at their own request
" of five regional prosecutors in the regions of Zaporijjia (South), Kirovograd (center), Poltava, Sumy and Cherniguiv (North).
Cascading resignations
Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Facebook on Wednesday that the head of the army's procurement department, Bodgan Khmelnytsky, has also been sacked, after being suspended in December.
These new starts come after a cascade of resignations and dismissals on Tuesday January 24 in Ukraine.
During the day, five regional governors, four deputy ministers and two heads of a government agency were pushed out, in addition to the deputy head of the presidential administration and the deputy attorney general.
At the origin of the reshuffle, a scandal relating to a contract signed by the Ministry of Defense at an allegedly overvalued price and relating to food products intended for its soldiers.
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La Défense at the heart of the scandal
According to Anastassia Radina, who chairs the anti-corruption committee of the Ukrainian parliament, the Ministry of Defense admitted on Wednesday that there were “
errors
” in the contract and that “
price revisions
” were underway to correct them. .
Oleksiï Reznikov had however initially assured that the scandal was an “
artificial informational attack
” based on a “
false pretext
” and his ministry had evoked “
unfounded
” accusations.
Read alsoUkraine tries to stem the scourge of corruption
This Wednesday, the ministry announced on Telegram a reform of the army catering system and said it was ready to make “
open
” a “
part of public defense contracts
”.
Not all resignations are related to this scandal, however, but also to other offences.
It is the first major corruption case to break out in Ukraine since the Russian invasion launched in February 2022, coming as kyiv's Western allies, whose military and financial support are crucial, prepare to send it troops. modern tanks.
The country was regularly rocked by such scandals before the war.
