Corruption in Ukraine hinders supply of Western weapons - Lithuanian President

This was stated by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, LRT.lt reports.

"This is a very important reason. Since those states that support Ukraine are democratic states, it means that they should take into account their society’s mood and their voters," the politician said.

"Imagine the situation: voters in one of the states see that there are very visible corruption scandals in the aid-directed country. This is a huge reputational blow for this state," he added.

Scandals in the Ukraine's Defense Ministry

On January 21, Dzerkalo Tyzhnia publication reported that the Ministry of Defense was purchasing food for the military at prices much higher than those in Kyiv retail chains. The scandal was later dubbed "eggs for 17 UAH". At a meeting on January 24, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to dismiss Deputy Defense Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov. Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, director of the procurement department at the Ministry of Defense, was also dismissed: he was linked to the food for the Armed Forces scandal.

On August 10, journalists published an investigation according to which the Ministry of Defense signed a contract with a Turkish company to supply winter clothing for the military. In fact, "camouflage jackets" were shipped to Ukraine, which were re-registered as "winter air protection jackets" on the way, which were almost three times more expensive.

On August 25, it was reported that one of the owners of the Turkish company that received $30 million for the scandalous purchase of lightweight jackets for the Ukrainian military under the guise of winter jackets was the nephew of a member of the Servant of the People faction. Defense Minister Reznikov made a bet with MP Radina and journalist Tkach that he would resign from the post of Defense Minister if the fact that summer jackets were delivered instead of winter jackets was proven. If, in fact, 180,000 winter jackets were delivered instead of summer jackets, Radina should resign her mandate, and Ukrayinska Pravda journalist Mykhailo Tkach should resign from the publication and stop working in his field for three years.

On September 1, a court ruled that the Defense Ministry had purchased low-quality food for the military.

On September 3, President Zelenskyy announced that Reznikov was to be dismissed as Defense Minister. Reznikov's resignation has already been supported by the relevant committee of the Verkhovna Rada.