Deputy Head of the Ministry of Defense resigned because of the scandal with the purchase of products for the Armed Forces

Vyacheslav Shapovalov was responsible in the Office for the Tiloval Support of the Ukrainian Army. Minister Alexei Reznikov approved his request for dismissal and appealed to the government. Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Vyacheslav Shapovalov on Tuesday, January 24, resigned. The head of the defense department Alexei Reznikov approved his request. This was reported on the official website of the Ministry of Defense. Reznikov has already addressed the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

In press release, it is specified that Shapovalov was responsible in the department for the rear support of the Ukrainian army. He decided to get rid of "not pose a threat to the Armed Forces stable" due to a scandal that has burst out in connection with food purchases.

"Despite the fact that the accusations are unjustified and unfounded, Vyacheslav Shapovalov's statement about release is a worthy act in the traditions of European and democratic policy, demonstration that the interests of defense are higher than any offices or chair," the statement said.

According to the Defense Ministry, this decision of the deputy chairman of the department "will preserve the trust of society and international partners", and will allow to ensure objectivity in the investigation of a situation with providing military food. "This is the philosophy that the Ministry of Defense team professes," the press service says.

The ministry also assures that from the moment of its appointment, the official worked on the site with the maximum responsibility, where the problems have accumulated for decades. And, despite the "fierce resistance", he managed not only to establish current work in critical conditions of war, when the army increased many times over, but also to implement a number of reforms, they consider in the department. On Saturday, January 21, journalist Yuri Nikolov published an investigation on ZN.

UA website, which states that the Ministry of Defense will steal budget funds, significantly inflating food prices for Armed Forces of Ukraine. Judging from the documents, the department ordered eggs for 17 UAH apiece and potatoes for 22 UAH per kg, although in Kiev the retail price is 7 and 9 UAH, respectively.

After that, Nicolov gave an interview to the journalist Yevgeny Plinsky, in which he said that he did not want to print the article and even sent a request to the Ministry of Defense, but did not wait for the department of any visible reaction. The Ministry of Defense has published its comment on this. The statement states that the purchase information published in the media is allegedly spreading with the signs of deliberate manipulation and misleading the public.

According to the head of the Ministry of Defense Alexei Reznikov, the journalists submitted in their investigation distorted information through technical errors in working documentation. The Minister expressed his willingness to provide all necessary information to the People's Deputies at a meeting of the profile committee with the participation of representatives of NABU, DBR and the SBU.

Almost immediately, the adviser to the head of the OP Mikhail Podolyak responded to the published investigation. According to him, information about the possible purchase of products for the Armed Forces at inflated prices will be checked, and in case of its confirmation, the perpetrators will be responsible.

On January 23, a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, which heard the management of the Ministry of Defense and representatives of NABU, DBR and the SBU, which spoke on this issue. According to the People's Deputy Maryan Bezugla, NABU has already opened criminal proceedings on the procurement of a defense department of food at inflated prices.