Three suspects announced in case of purchasing food for soldiers at inflated prices - media

This was reported to Ukrainian media by law enforcement sources.

According to the report, former deputy director of the Defense Ministry's public procurement department Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, former deputy defense minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov, and former deputy director of the state-owned enterprise Promoboronexport Volodymyr Tereshchenko were suspected.

According to media sources, Khmelnytskyi was served a notice of suspicion of embezzlement of public funds in the amount of UAH 107,796,050 and providing the Armed Forces with low-quality bulletproof vests in the amount of 5,700.

Shapovalov was served a notice of suspicion for illegal actions that resulted in the failure to provide individual units of the Armed Forces with personal protective equipment worth over UAH 1 billion.

Tereshchenko, who is currently the Deputy Head of the Department for Coordination of Foreign Economic Activity of the Defense Ministry, was served with a notice of suspicion for misappropriation of public funds in the amount of $1,340,000, which resulted from abuse and forgery.

The Prosecutor General's Office has not yet provided any official information.

• Information that the Ministry of Defense purchases food for the military at prices significantly higher than in Kyiv retail chains was published on January 21 by Dzerkalo Tyzhnia, citing the defense ministry's food procurement agreement.
• The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense called the accusations of purchasing food for the army at inflated prices as having signs of deliberate manipulation.
• The National Anti-Corruption bureau said that the bureau was aware of possible abuses by the Defense Ministry in the procurement of food for the military even before the media reports, and the investigation is ongoing.