Zelensky signed the law on transparent defense procurement

The President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the law on transparent defense procurement. It will open up some of the procurements from the Ministry of Defense and return them to Prozorro.

The MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak reported this.

The law introduces reporting on defense purchases (except for information on goods, works and services that constitute state secrets) that do not exceed 1.5 million hryvnias. The report must state:

• customer;
• subject of purchase (with units of measurement);
• price per product unit, price of works and services.

The law proposes not to disclose other amounts of information. This applies to sensitive information: location, identification data of the government customer in the field of defense and supplier of goods, contractor or service provider; quantity, place and terms of delivery of goods (fulfillment of the contract); the total price of the goods purchase contract. This, according to the authors, will ensure the balance between the interests of national security and defense and the democratic principles of openness and transparency.

• At the beginning of January, a scandal broke out around the Ministry of Defense due to the purchase of food products at allegedly inflated prices several times over (in particular, eggs at 17 hryvnias per each).
• On January 24, it became known that Deputy Minister of Defense Vyacheslav Shapovalov, who was responsible for the rear support of Ukrainian Armed Forces, resigned. At the beginning of February, rumors began to appear about Reznikovʼs possible release. Due to purchases for the army, three officials of the Ministry of Defense received suspicions.