Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda told Lithuanian outlet LRT on Sept. 5 that corruption scandals in Ukraine have a significant impact on Western state's decision to supply Kyiv with weapons.
"Since those states that support Ukraine are democratic states, it means that they must take into account the mood of their society and the opinion of voters," Nauseda said.
"Imagine if the voters in this or that state see that there are very visible corruption scandals in the country to which the aid is directed. This is a huge blow to the reputation of this state," he continued.
However, Nauseda noted that he does not believe that this is the reason for the delay in providing Ukraine with F-16 fighters, which Kyiv has repeatedly requested.
"Sometimes things are also connected with the fact that it is one thing to make a decision, another thing to implement this decision," the Lithuanian leader said.
Nauseda's comment came after the scandal resulting in Oleksii Reznikov's resignation as Ukraine's defense minister.
The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, approved Oleksii Reznikov's resignation as defense minister, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said on Sept. 5.
Reznikov has held the post of defense minister since November 2021. Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he has played a vital role in coordinating military aid from foreign allies, including at multiple Ramstein summits.
However, Reznikov's tenure at the Defense Ministry has been marred by several scandals related to the procurement of equipment and supplies for Ukrainian soldiers.
In August, Ukrainian media Dzerkalo Tyzhnia reported that the Defense Ministry spent $33 million on "winter" clothing for the military from a Turkish company in September, which was actually summer clothing.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
