Reznikov: There are individuals for whom goal is not to provide for army, but to force military to adapt to wishes of certain business
Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov stated that a number of people want to return the Soviet food system to the Armed Forces, aligning themselves with a group of businessmen. Because of this, in April, the army could be completely without food.
He said this in a comment to Lb.ua, Censor.NET reports.
According to the minister, his department sets clear requirements for food suppliers for the army. The main task is to ensure guaranteed high-quality food for our soldiers.
Reznikov says that we are talking about hundreds of thousands of people who change places of deployment and, according to the decision of the command, quickly concentrate in certain areas or move to where they are needed.
"These are the realities of war. We need a margin of safety to respond flexibly to these needs. Otherwise, there will be disruptions. That is why we set clear requirements for suppliers. Unfortunately, some do not want to understand this. There are several individuals for whom the goal is not to provide for the army but to force the military to adapt to the wishes of a certain business group during the active phase of hostilities. I don't know why, but there is clearly a problem with priorities. This thoughtless activity is already causing damage," the minister said.
According to Reznikov, we were one step away from the fact that army would be left without food at all in April.
"The government had to save the situation and continue existing agreements, make a separate decision on this matter. The same people actually demand the return of the Soviet food system to the Armed Forces. So that there would be neither quality nor diversity. And again - only for the sake of a certain group of companies being able comfortable to earn. The Ministry of Defense requires a guarantee of supply, quality, and compliance with the ration. All. But these requirements are called "excessive" or "inadequate" for some reason. The Ministry of Defense is ready to buy through Prozoro and publish prices. As soon as a suitable site is created, we will do it. But I will definitely not allow the system of the uninterrupted food supply of our defenders, which has withstood the stress of wartime, to be destroyed. If someone does not control his political ambitions or made promises to someone that he cannot fulfill, this is no reason to deprive the army of food, especially at such a crucial moment," he emphasized.
Earlier, the mass media reported that the Ministry of Defense signed an agreement for catering services for military units in 2023 for the total amount of UAH 13.16 billion at 2-3 times inflated prices. For example, the Ministry of Defense contracted eggs for UAH 17 per piece, while the retail price in a Kyiv store is now about UAH 7 per piece.
Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov denied the information about the purchase of products at inflated prices. According to him, there was a technical error in the document released to the mass media - the supplier indicated the price not for a dozen, but for a kilogram of eggs.
At the same time, he admitted that the head of the relevant department, Bohdan Khmelnytsky, was suspended from the Ministry of Defense at the end of December, and dismissed in January. At the same time, after the scandal, Deputy Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov, who was responsible for the rear support of the Armed Forces, resigned from the Ministry of Defense. Later, he was informed about the suspicion.
In its turn, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) announced that it is investigating a criminal case about possible abuses in the procurement of food products by the Ministry of Defense for a total amount of more than 13 billion hryvnias.
On February 28, the Ministry of Defense published food contracts for the Armed Forces. For example, they stated that eggs are bought for UAH 8-9 per piece.
