Deputy defense minister resigns following procurement scandal
Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk said on April 11 he had decided to resign as first deputy defense minister.
Havryliuk told the Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne that he is stepping down voluntarily, without elaborating on the reason for his decision.
Tetiana Nikolayenko, a journalist and member of the civic oversight council at the Defense Ministry, claimed earlier on April 11 that Havryliuk may resign due to a conflict with Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
The resignation of Havryliuk, who was in charge of procurement at the Defense Ministry, follows a scandal over the transparency of defense procurement.
Umerov has been lambasted by pro-reform MPs and anti-corruption activists for what they see as his efforts to destroy the independence of the Defense Procurement Agency, which was created in 2022 to make defense procurement more transparent and crack down on corruption.
In January Umerov fired Maryna Bezrukova, the head of the Defense Procurement Agency (DPA).
On April 7, Havryliuk also announced the ministry planned to merge the Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) and the State Rear Operator (DOT), a sister agency overseeing the procurement of non-lethal supplies for the Armed Forces. He said that the merger may take place after martial law is lifted.
One of NATO and European partners' requirements for Ukraine was the establishment of two agencies that would be directly responsible for procurement for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, not through the Defense Ministry or contractors.
The defense procurement sector was reshaped in December 2023, aiming to meet NATO standards. The DPA, first established in August 2022, was to focus solely on lethal aid. Meanwhile, the DOT was formed to purchase non-lethal aid such as food and clothing.
Havryliuk was appointed first deputy defense minister in charge of procurement in May 2024.
In early March, he was appointed a member of the DPA's Supervisory Board along with Stanislav Haider, Umerov's ex-deputy who was dismissed last fall.
Kateryna Denisova
