Minister of discord. Should Reznikov be criticized?

Uncomfortable questions to the authorities about money are usually written down either in the Kremlin's dark rooms or as "bastards that prevent the right guys from living and earning a decent living".

What happened to the jackets?

In the autumn, the Ukrainian Armed Forces counterattacked to liberate Kharkiv and the right bank of the Kherson region. However, the autumn winters were already cold, and the Armed Forces urgently needed winter clothing. 

The Ministry of Defense then purchased 180,000 jackets from a Turkish company for a full prepayment of $30 million. The goods were brought to Ukraine and distributed to the troops. Almost a year later, this contract suddenly came under scrutiny from the media, activists and the Verkhovna Rada's anti-corruption committee.

What is the essence of the scandal? The owner of the Turkish company was a little-known handball player from Zaporizhzhia. He is also a relative of Hennadiy Kasai, a member of the National Security and Defense Committee and a member of the Servant of the People party.

What is interesting about this Mr Kasai? The ruling party deputy was the CEO of the Motor Sich sports complex, and his brother and assistant appeared on recordings of conversations between Bohuslaev when he ordered that the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine not allow the company's Mi-24 helicopter to be seized for combat missions.

It was the early spring of 2022, when military intelligence desperately needed helicopters for covert missions of Ukrainian pilots in Mariupol. 

The helicopters were used to transport the wounded and deliver provisions to the defenders. It was this that allowed Azovstal's defenders to hold out until May and save several thousand of their men.

Pavlo Kasai did not hide the fact that he switched on the family ties mode so that his brother Hennadiy could cover up for Bohuslaev and prevent the helicopter from being seized for the war.

So, when Minister Reznikov is now making a bet with MP Anastasia Radina and demanding that journalist Tkach leave the profession for three years, doesn't he want to explain why the relatives of those who put a spoke in the wheel of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine in March 2022 received contracts for uniforms for the Armed Forces in September 2022?

I have no complaints against Oleksiy Reznikov as a private citizen. However, every time he makes a public appearance with comments in the media, it adds a portion of new questions.

Just look at his admission in an interview with Channel 24 about the real state of preparation of the army on the eve of a full-scale invasion. Here is Reznikov's answer to the question of what he would have changed if he had known that a full-scale war was coming.

"In October, I would have been commenting dramatically to my partners about the consequences that would occur. I would have already convinced our military that we need to change and strengthen our artillery system to match NATO's... Because at the time, we were convinced that the 152mm and 122mm we had in service would be enough. In March 2022, I went to convince Ben Wallace that we needed 155 mm. He said, "Why, we're already looking for 152mm all over the world. You must have some stock, right? I said: "Ben, we're going to run out anyway, and you're going to supply us!"

Thank God for Ben Wallace, who also served as Minister of Defense for our country. So yes, he had every right to ask for more gratitude at the NATO summit.

Reznikov also said that during the first phase of the war, out of 200 employees of the Department of Material Support - armor, helmets, uniforms, fuel - only 12 people worked. It is therefore not surprising why the work of the Ministry of Defense in procurement matters shouts about overdue reforms.

What did the Minister of Defense offer in return for the constructive criticism? I bet he offered insults to MPs and journalists. And a number of posts by friendly bloggers saying that "society does not understand the intricacies of war" and that "someone worse may come instead of Reznikov". This is an attempt to talk down the problem rather than get to the bottom of the truth.

What is interesting about the jackets?

First. Do we have at least a minimal possibility that any contract from the Ministry will not be won by the nephew of a member of the Servant of the People party from the defense committee? And why were the people of the traitor Bohuslaev able to win this contract after the publication of records of the sale of engines for K-52 helicopters, the very ones that our military is now so heroically forced to shoot down?

Second, about the manner of communication with the media, which is getting worse and worse among our statesmen. If Mykhailo Tkach or Yuriy Nikolov made a mistake somewhere, I expect quality counter-arguments with explanations. But not phrases like "I'm not a sucker" and "I'm the president, Misha". "What if the president fires me, my wife will be happy."

Third. You can write as many posts as you like in the style of "don't rock the boat, because someone worse will come", but there is a strong impression that a conflict of interest is at the heart of everything. There is a relative of a member of the ruling party, a member of the Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence. He quickly sets up a company for the Ministry of Defense in Turkey from scratch and gets a contract with a good profit. The startup is simply bombastic. And my main question is whether the Ministry had the opportunity to buy jackets directly from Turkish manufacturers. What were the conditions of the MP's nephew that outweighed all the others?

I don't think Ukrainian society and investigative journalists want to make the country worse. And execute the minister in public. There are simply triggers that are very acute in society. As soon as martial law is lifted, the questions "Who prepared for the war?", "Who cleared Chongar of mines?" and "Who stole so much money during the war?" will concern everyone.

That is why the tactic of calling everyone "psy-ops" and "the hands of the Kremlin" is losing in advance. You need to feel the pulse of your country. We need to understand that several hundred thousand people will lie in their graves - and this is our payment for colonial liberation. They will have millions of relatives who will be looking for answers: "Why me?"; "Why did my loved one die?"; "Was there any way to prevent all this?"; "How will our children live?".

Sparks of discontent, demand for justice and expectation of change are flying in the air. Only a suicide or a madman can ignore this. And this is not a problem for Oleksiy Reznikov personally. He is simply the head of the Ministry of Defense in times of war.

When the First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill suffered a terrible defeat at the storming of Gallipoli, he was mercilessly criticized by the media, his party colleagues, widows and mothers. He washed away the shame with blood, and later almost died from shrapnel in a trench near Ypres.

This experience made him more interested in what kind of procurement should be done to save the lives of British soldiers. And this hard lesson became the basis for why Churchill became a quality prime minister and defense minister during World War II. The criticism was useful, because after the massive losses of the Dardanelles operation, the government realized the truth that "women will not give birth to more children". If you don't value the lives of young men.

Specially for Espreso

About the author: Maryna Danyliuk-Yarmolaieva, journalist

The editors do not always share the opinions expressed by the authors of blogs.