Ukrainian deputy defense minister resigns following corruption allegations
Mike Brest
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Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov resigned shortly after corruption allegations surfaced.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine said on Monday that it was investigating “high-profile media reports about possible abuses by the Ministry of Defense in the procurement of food for the military,” which ultimately prompted Shapovalov’s resignation even though the ministry denied the allegations.
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“Despite the fact that the voiced accusations are unfounded and baseless, Vyacheslav Shapovalov’s statement on dismissal is a worthy act in the traditions of European and democratic politics, a demonstration that the interests of defense are higher than any cabinets or chairs,” the ministry said in a statement. “The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine believes that such a step will preserve the trust of society and international partners and ensure objectivity during additional clarifications and possible investigations.”
The Ukrainian news website ZN.UA revealed last week that the defense ministry was overspending on food supplies for its troops. A defense contract for food for soldiers in 2023 amounted to more than 13 billion hryvnias, Ukraine’s currency, which is the equivalent of more than $350 million. The ministry, for instance, purchased eggs at 17 hryvnias a piece, whereas their average cost in Kyiv is less than half that, at seven hryvnias.
Shapovalov said in his resignation letter he was stepping aside so he would not be a distraction from the war effort.
“Due to the large public outcry, which was largely provoked by unsubstantiated manipulations around the issue of supplying the Armed Forces of Ukraine, there are risks of destabilizing the army supply processes. This is unacceptable during the war with Russia,” reads the letter. “In this situation, the priority is to ensure the stable work of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and to create conditions for transparent, unbiased inspections by law enforcement and other authorized bodies.”
Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov called the mix-up a “technical error” by the contractor and described it as “a mistake while transferring data from one table to another.”
Shapovalov is not the only government official caught in the crosshairs of the anti-corruption bureau’s investigations.
Vasyl Lozynsky, the acting minister for regional development, was arrested on Sunday after the anti-corruption bureau accused Lozynsky of receiving $400,000 in “unlawful benefits” for facilitating contacts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s deputy chief of staff, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, announced his resignation on Tuesday after Ukrainian media reported he was using a vehicle designated for humanitarian and evacuation purposes to go on business trips.
“I would like to ask you to dismiss me from the post of Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine at my own request,” he wrote in his resignation letter, dated Monday. “In recent months, I have driven this car about 40,000 kilometers on business trips throughout Ukraine. I will not use this car in the future.”
Deputy prosecutor general Oleksii Symonenko, deputy ministers of regional development Ivan Lukerya and Viacheslav Nehoda, and the deputy minister of social policy Vitalii Muzychenko were all asked to resign or have already quit. Several regional officials faced the same fate.
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Ukraine has been plagued by corruption for years, and Zelensky’s promise to rid the government of it helped him ride into office in 2019.
“Zelensky’s personnel decisions testify to the key priorities of the state. … No ‘blind eyes,’” Zelensky adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter. “During the war, everyone should understand their responsibility. The President sees and hears society. And he directly responds to a key public demand – justice for all.”