Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov has firmly denied allegations of corruption in army catering. “The most obvious goal seems to be trying to undermine trust in the Department of Defense at a very important time,” the 56-year-old wrote on Facebook on Monday.
There is no factual basis for the allegations. Resnikov guaranteed complete transparency for the investigations. “In fact, this is a common technical error made by the supplier,” the minister explained the price of eggs. Instead of unit prices, the 100 gram price was given. That would explain the three times higher price compared to retail prices in the capital Kyiv. Transport costs, including the risks for deliveries close to the front, led to higher prices. For each soldier daily food costs of the equivalent of almost 3.40 euros are planned. The cost increase since last year is 21.5 percent, which is below the official inflation rate of 26.6 percent.
Parliamentary committee finds no evidence
A media report on the purchase prices for the army had previously caused a stir. The investigating authorities confirmed that investigations into purchases worth the equivalent of around 300 million euros had already been initiated. These were started independently of the press release.
The defense committee of the Ukrainian parliament found no confirmation of the corruption allegations on Monday. “We have all seen the treaty and the figures that were shown (in the press) do not correspond to the facts,” said committee chairman Oleksandr Savitnevych of the presidential party “Servants of the People” in the unified television news program. The contract had been viewed by all committee members. It is still too early for personal consequences. “If the matter goes to court, then you can talk about personnel decisions,” said the 49-year-old.
Ukraine has been repelling a Russian invasion for almost eleven months. The financing of military spending depends to a large extent on Western funds. The Eastern European country is considered one of the most corrupt countries in Europe.
