Army jacket procurement scandal: Ukraine's Defence Minister urges reporters to wait for investigation

Ukraine’s Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov has urged journalists to wait for the investigation into the controversy surrounding summer-weight military jackets purchased for Ukraine’s Armed Forces. At the same time, he made no comment on the involvement of an MP's relative in the purchase. Reznikov added that he "had no idea" why the jackets were sold at a lower price in Türkiye.

Source: Interfax-Ukraine news agency, citing Reznikov

Quote: "I suggest that everyone should try to deal with this issue calmly and publish a story without the word ‘scandal’ in it at least once in your life, with a proper analysis and balanced conclusions. Maybe that story will be read by three times fewer people, but it will be beneficial to Ukraine rather than harmful. Please could all the journalists who are spreading news about the purchase of summer jackets instead of winter ones delete these unverified stories, publish the official position of the Defence Ministry regarding this purchase, and wait until the situation is resolved. As far as I am aware, an independent public body, the Defence Ministry’s Public Anti-Corruption Council, is already investigating this [the procurement scandal – ed.]."

Details: Reznikov urged reporters to put an end to this "friendly fire", assuring them that neither MP Anastasiia Radina nor journalist Mykhailo Tkach are his enemies.

Reznikov also stated that the ministry purchased 180,000 winter jackets, which they handed over to the Armed Forces in 2022. The minister said there were no complaints about the jackets from the military, and the price was appropriate for the market and the situation at that time.

"There was a shortage of clothing on the market, and we had to provide it for as many military personnel as possible. Each jacket cost US$86 (now UAH 3,177). And I have no idea why some of the Turkish documents stated that the price of a winter jacket was $29 (now UAH 1,072). Maybe it was to do with tax evasion in Türkiye. In any case, that is not Ukraine's concern. Anyone who wants to is welcome to go to Türkiye and buy a batch of winter jackets at $29 each and have them delivered in just a few weeks," Reznikov said.

"There is nothing in the ‘investigation’ except the accusation that the winter jackets turned into summer ones. No one is prepared to take responsibility for this accusation," he added.

Reznikov made no comment on the fact that Vector Avia, the Turkish company that supplied the Defence Ministry with the infamous military uniforms at a cost of US$30 million, was co-owned by Oleksandr Kasai, nephew of Hennadii Kasai, an MP from Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People party who sits on the National Security, Defence and Intelligence Committee in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament.

Learn more in an investigation by Ukrainska Pravda (with English subtitles): Servant of jackets for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Who is making money out of the war in Ukraine?

Background: 

• On 10 August, the media outlet Dzerkalo Tyzhnia reported that in 2022, a Turkish company had sold summer jackets to the Armed Forces of Ukraine under the guise of winter jackets.
• The outlet’s website, ZN.UA, has a package of supporting documents for one of the batches of goods from Vector Avia. It shows how 4,900 jackets worth US$142,000 were transformed into 4,900 jackets worth US$421,000. On their way from Turkish to Ukrainian customs, the jackets magically transformed from "camouflage jackets" into "windproof winter jackets" and gained in value from US$29 to US$86 per piece.
• At a meeting of the Anti-Corruption Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, it was reported that the scandal-ridden procurement of jackets and trousers for the Armed Forces involved a fake invoice scheme, that the supplier company was probably set up specifically for this supply, and that about 120,000 sets of uniforms are now in the hands of the military.
• Ukrainian Pravda found out that Vector Avia, the Turkish company that supplied Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence with the overpriced summer military uniform instead of a winter one at a cost of US$30 million, turned out to be co-owned by Oleksandr Kasai. He is the nephew of Hennadii Kasai, a Ukrainian MP and member of the Sluha Narodu (Servant of the People) party who sits on the Verkhovna Rada (Parliamentary) Committee for National Security, Defence and Intelligence.
• Reznikov responded to the accusations by offering Ukrainska Pravda journalist Mykhailo Tkach and MP Anastasiia Radina a wager. They have responded to his proposal.

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