Ukrainian MoD's career at stake amid budget theft scandal: He proposes honest bet to unveil truth
Oleksii Reznikov, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine (Photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBС-Ukraine)
Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov is ready to resign due to the scandal involving the procurement of jackets for the military by the Ministry of Defense. However, there is a condition, according to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine.
Reznikov stated to RBC-Ukraine, "If it turns out that the Ministry of Defense indeed supplied 180,000 summer jackets instead of winter ones, I will submit my resignation. However, if it is revealed that 180,000 winter jackets were indeed supplied, and not summer ones, then Member of Parliament Anastasiia Radina will resign from her mandate, and journalist Mykhailo Tkach will step down from the publication and cease journalism for 3 years," said the minister.
Additionally, Reznikov requested that the parliamentary ethics committee and the journalistic ethics commission become arbitrators in this matter.
"During the investigation, we will provide all documents, evidence, facts, and materials related to the case to ensure that the winner of the dispute is clear to the entire Ukrainian society," he added.
The Minister of Defense also sent his statement to other reputable media outlets.
Scandal with jacket procurement in the Ministry of Defense
Recently, there was an investigation in the media that alleged the Ministry of Defense procured winter jackets for the military from the Turkish company Vector avia hava araçlari at an inflated price. According to the investigation, the price of the jackets tripled during delivery. Furthermore, the media found out that the jackets delivered from Turkey to Ukraine were actually summer jackets, not winter ones.
Journalist Mykhailo Tkach revealed this information, adding that the nephew of MP Hennadii Kasai, who is a member of the parliamentary defense committee, was allegedly involved in the scheme.
This week, a meeting of the parliamentary committee on anti-corruption policy took place regarding this issue, with representatives of the Ministry of Defense participating. After the meeting, committee head Radina stated that the ministry representatives had been unable to answer most of the questions from the MPs and had attempted to present an "unknown origin jacket." During this, a different contract number was indicated on the tag than the one in the invoice from the supply being investigated by the committee.
