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Defense minister acknowledges flaws with military procurement.

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Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov on Jan. 31 promised to improve military procurement through reforms after his ministry was caught in a corruption scandal.

In January ZN.ua, a Ukrainian news site, published an investigative report that the armed forces were trying to procure food at prices that were several times higher than in Kyiv grocery stores.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) stated they had been investigating the alleged scheme.

In his Jan. 31 Facebook statement, Reznikov said that an audit of the army's procurement process had been launched on June 29 and its initial results in December found that the procurement system was deficient.

He claimed that he will move faster towards improving procurement, which may involve replacing personnel.

When the ZN.ua article first broke, Reznikov responded defiantly, saying that whoever leaked the procurement documents committed a crime. Reznikov also denied wrongdoing.

NABU opens case into alleged corruption in Defense Ministry procurement
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The Kyiv Independent news desk

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