By Dan Peleschuk
KYIV (Reuters) – Ukrainian investigators have opened a criminal case involving Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, a move likely to deepen a standoff in his ministry over arms procurement that could strain Kyiv’s ties with important Western allies.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) told Reuters in a statement that its investigation, requested by a corruption watchdog, would examine whether there had been an abuse of authority by Umerov but gave few other details.
The watchdog, the Anti-Corruption Action Centre, has accused Umerov of acting illegally by sidelining the head of the Defence Procurement Agency, whose contract Umerov is refusing to renew after criticising the agency’s work.
Umerov said last week that the DPA, which coordinates weapons purchases, had failed to deliver results for Ukrainian forces, comments that brought ministry infighting over arms procurement out into the open.
“Despite the publicized scale of procurement, our defenders on the frontlines have not experienced its tangible impact,” he wrote on Facebook.
The dispute comes at a critical time in the war with Russia as President Donald Trump reviews U.S. support for Ukraine’s military and as Kyiv tries to convince its Western partners that it is winning the battle against endemic corruption.
Weapons supplied by Ukraine’s Western allies including tanks, rockets, missile defences and ammunition are vital to Kyiv’s war effort.
In a statement on Monday, diplomats in Ukraine representing countries in the Group of Seven major democracies urged officials to resolve the dispute quickly.
CONTROVERSY OVER ARMS PURCHASES
Umerov’s appointment as defence minister in September 2023 followed months of corruption allegations against the ministry, and the DPA was charged with introducing more accountability in arms buying.
The agency has sought to cut out intermediaries in the defence sector and minimise the risk of corruption, and the appointment of its head, Maryna Bezrukova, was applauded by anti-graft lobbyists and Kyiv’s Western partners.
But Umerov has accused the agency of playing “political games” and leaking information, and a deputy defence minister in charge of procurement was sacked by the government on Tuesday at Umerov’s request.
Ukraine has long sought to keep details of arms procurement a closely guarded secret.
Bezrukova told Reuters she had not received any prior complaints about her work and that the management crisis could complicate future talks with prospective suppliers.
“This has effectively spoiled a year of our work to a significant degree,” she said. “Confidence is built over a long time, but it can be destroyed very quickly.”
The Defence Ministry’s press service criticised what it called “media manipulation” around the dispute and said the NABU investigation of Umerov was a legal formality containing no evidence of wrongdoing.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly urged Western partners to keep arms flowing to Ukraine as its troops try to prevent further advances by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, almost three years after Moscow’s full-scale invasion.
(Additional reporting by Olena Harmash, editing by Timothy Heritage)
