Umyerov announced personnel changes: the dismissal of his deputy and a change in the leadership of the DPA

The Minister of Defence of Ukraine, Rustem Umyerov, announced the resignation of his deputy. In addition, he announced changes in the weapons procurement system.

This became known from the statement of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine.

The head of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine noted that arms procurement during the war was complicated by political games, leaks of contracts, and publicity of inaction.

"Arms procurement, which should be classified during martial law and a full-scale war with Russia, unexpectedly turned into ’Amazon,’ where any internet user can, in real-time, see who is buying what, in what quantities, and from which manufacturers. However, the scale of these purchases, which would be commensurate with the media publicity, was not felt by our defenders on the front line," he noted.

In connection with this, he is submitting a request to the Cabinet of Ministers for the dismissal of his deputy, Dmytro Klimenkov, and also is not renewing the contract with the Director of the Defence Procurement Agency (DPA), Maryna Bezrukova.

The Ministry is also withdrawing two representatives from the Supervisory Board and relaunching it.

"This will be a precedent in the history of state corporate governance, when two independent representatives of the Supervisory Board supported the position of the state, and the state-appointed representative of the state’s interests ignored the recommendations of the governing body. The relaunch of the Supervisory Board will take place soon," emphasized Umyerov.

The Minister also announced the appointment of Arsen Zhumadilov as the Director of the Defence Procurement Agency, noting that the procurement system is changing to ensure results are on the front line, not in the news.

Scandals with defence procurements

It should be noted that the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine recently found itself at the center of a scandal due to suspicions of inefficient use of budget funds and delays in the supply of necessary weapons for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In particular, it was revealed that the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Procurement Agency was purchasing anti-tank mines manufactured as far back as 1941 at a price of about 600 euros per unit.

Moreover, information spread across the network that the DPA allegedly did not use a significant part of its budget, leading to delays in providing the necessary ammunition and other weapons for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.