Ukraine Tightens Military Procurement After Corruption Shakeup
- Dzhygyr cites new rules 8 months after defense chief ousted
- War with Russia has laid bare ‘corruption risks’ in military
Photographer: Wojtek Radwanski/AFP/Getty Images
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry has overhauled its procurement system and boosted cooperation with NATO eight months after corruption allegations led to a shakeup in its leadership, a top security official said.
Last September, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy replaced Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov after accusations of graft in military procurement by subordinates on his watch prompted public outrage and criticism from wartime allies. Yuriy Dzhygyr, a deputy defense minister, said a new vetted procurement system has helped “liquidate corruption risks.”
Russia’s invasion has “highlighted a number of specific corruption risks in the department,” Dzhygyr said in a written response to Bloomberg News.
Corruption remains a concern for Ukraine’s wartime allies as they contribute weapons and funding to help stave off Russia’s attack. Donors including the International Monetary Fund and European Union have demanded a raft of anti-graft measures as a central condition for assistance.
Ukraine’s agriculture minister last month became the country’s first cabinet member to be detained as part of a crackdown tied to corruption allegations. Last year, Zelenskiy also fired all of the army’s top draft officers following media reports of graft.
The sweep has led to a “two-stage mechanism” in procurement at the Defense Ministry, Dzhygyr said. The ministry sets procurement policies, controls and checks quality, while two state companies oversee procurement in an effort to scale back potential risks, he said.
Cleaning Up
The Kyiv-based ministry also bolstered its involvement in a North Atlantic Treaty Organization program to help countries advance defense reforms and meet anti-corruption commitments, the deputy minister said. Dzhygyr, who consulted on public finance reform in Ukraine and abroad before joining the ministry in September, said accounting firm KPMG will evaluate in-house auditing to improve risk management and compliance.
Ukraine ranked 104 out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index in 2023, though it climbed up from 116th place the year before, putting it on par with Brazil and Serbia.
On the defense budget, Dzhygyr said the cost for Kyiv’s mobilization drive aimed at bolstering its depleted military ranks will depend on monthly conscription levels — a factor of incoming aid — and rotation decisions. He put the cost for maintaining one soldier without weapons at 1.2 million hryvnia ($30,000).
The ministry is also working with US counterparts as part of an effort to address concerns over how Ukrainian forces are storing and deploying Western ammunition, Dzhygyr said, citing six inspections at military facilities that looked into how certain types of weapons were stored.
“The process is on, it has become a routine now,” Dzhygyr said. “The mechanism is working
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