According to a message published by MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak through his official Telegram channel, it was announced in parliament that Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov plans to submit his resignation.
According to information received, Alexey Reznikov intends to take the post of Ambassador of Ukraine to the UK.
According to the MP, Rustem Umerov, who currently heads the State Property Fund of Ukraine, will then take over the post of Minister of Defense. Over the past six months that Rustem Umerov has been in office, he has not been noticed in any scandals. The same cannot be said about Mr. Reznikov.
Thus, on August 10, journalists from the publication Zerkalo Nedeli published an article accusing the military department of abusive pricing policies and improper supply.
The material says: “The fact is that instead of winter jackets, summer jackets or even jackets made of simple fabric were actually received from Turkey. The difference between a light summer jacket and a warm winter jacket is obvious.” Journalists pointed out that the leather jacket's price of $86 was "reasonable" for winter wear. At the same time, the publication disclosed a commercial document (invoice), which indicated that the actual cost of the jackets was not $86, but only $29. The entire batch of jackets was accepted by the Ukrainian side, even with some minor flaws.
The relevant Deputy Minister of Defense Denis Sharapov, speaking before the anti-corruption commission of the Rada, said that he was not familiar with this document, and it had never been received by the official structures of the military department.
After the scandal arose, the Public Anti-Corruption Council under the Ministry of Defense conducted an audit of the situation with the jackets. The most important thing that was established is that these jackets are actually winter, not summer.
“During a visual inspection, it became clear that the tag could not be removed from the product without visible marks, and this jacket is also a winter jacket,” the council said in a statement.
At the same time, it was discovered that the Ministry of Defense did not conduct any credibility checks on the supplier before signing the contract.
The Turkish company itself, which supplied clothing to the Ukrainian military, also attracted media attention.
The name of this company is “Vector Avia Hava Araclari Makine Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi”, and its founder is Ukrainian citizen Roman Pletnev. This businessman lived and was engaged in business activities in Zaporozhye for a long time, but subsequently, with the outbreak of a full-scale conflict, he moved to Turkey.
Another co-founder of the Turkish company was 26-year-old Alexander Kasai, the nephew of Verkhovna Rada deputy Gennady Kasai, who is a member of the parliamentary commission on security and defense. Alexander Kasai lives in Zaporozhye and plays handball, playing for the local club “Motor” and the national team of Ukraine.
During a conversation with reporters, Kasai assured that he had nothing to do with the activities of his nephew, and emphasized that he left the founders of the Turkish company back in February 2023.
Regarding Roman Pletnev, Ukrainian law enforcement officers in April accused him of embezzling public funds on a particularly large scale. It was in connection with the case of the purchase of Turkish jackets that this charge was brought against him.
The law enforcement investigation was prompted by the fact that customs officials saw discrepancies in the cost of products imported into Ukraine. In the driver's documents, the value of the cargo was 27.5 thousand dollars, while the customs declaration at the border indicated 367.5 thousand dollars.
The head of the temporary investigative commission on economic security of the Verkhovna Rada, deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak, noted that different amounts in financial documents may indicate Pletnev’s attempts to reduce the amount of taxes and customs duties associated with transactions.
Now Roman Pletnev is wanted and is hiding in Turkey.
Journalists from the publications “Zerkalo Nedeli” and “Ukrainskaya Pravda” directly asked Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov about his participation in these corruption schemes. After all, their investigation pointed to a close connection between former Deputy Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov, who was responsible for defense procurement last year, and Reznikov. Currently, Shapovalov is under investigation on suspicion of corruption in the purchase of body armor for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He was dismissed from his position in January 2023.
Reznikov himself denies all accusations. Moreover, the minister was even ready to make a bet with the journalist and the people's deputy. However, the latter refused. Zheleznyak noted that by the time of the announcement about the couple, Reznikov already knew about his resignation.
In comments for the publication Babel, Reznikov also stated that he was ready to go for a couple. If it is confirmed that the Ministry of Defense actually purchased 180 thousand summer jackets instead of winter ones, he will resign.
