The Defense Procurement Agency reports pressure on its supervisory board and refuses to acknowledge the change in leadership from Marina Bezrukova, stating that the authority to extend or terminate the current director's contract rests solely with the Supervisory Board.
This was announced by the DPA on its Facebook page.
It is noted that on January 23, the Supervisory Board of the DPA unanimously agreed to extend the contract of the current director, Bezrukova.
However, it is known that on Friday, January 24, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov decided to dismiss his deputy Dmitry Klimenkov and not to extend the contract with the director of the Defense Procurement Agency, Bezrukova, appointing Arsen Jumadilov to lead the DPA instead.
In the statement, the Agency emphasized that its Supervisory Board is legitimate, despite Umerov's claims about the withdrawal of two representatives.
"The DPA continues to operate under Bezrukova's leadership, as the authority to extend or terminate the director's contract belongs exclusively to the Supervisory Board. This complies with both Ukrainian law and the latest version of the Agency's charter. As of today, the DPA's Supervisory Board is legitimate, even in light of the minister's statement regarding the withdrawal of two state representatives who expressed an independent position,” stated the DPA.
Additionally, the Agency remarked that they consider the announcement of a new DPA leader as “a direct manifestation of pressure on the Supervisory Board and an attempt to replace independent corporate governance with a manual mode.”
“This is an unprecedented violation of all prior agreements between the Ministry of Defense and civil society, as well as international partners, particularly those financing the production of Ukrainian weapons under the Danish model,” the statement reads.
Recall that Bezrukova was appointed director of the DPA at the end of January last year. Several weeks ago, the Agency reported that it had succeeded in reducing prices for the production of a number of critical ammunition in 2024. It was also reported that the DPA's Supervisory Board initiated an audit of the Agency's activities with the involvement of auditors from NATO.
In December, it was reported that a new position of procurement officer for goods, works, and services is being introduced in each brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to enhance procurement oversight.
It is also known that military units will be able to report substandard products in a special IT system.
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