Kiev, Jan 24 (Prensa Latina) Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister, Vyacheslav Shapovalov, had to resign due to a corruption scandal related to the purchase of products for his country’s army, the military department commented.
Defense Minister Aleksei Reznikov supported Shapovalov’s request to resign from his post and submitted the corresponding information to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, UNIAN news agency reported on Tuesday.
As the dismissed deputy head was responsible for logistics of the Ukrainian Army, the Defense Ministry believes that the move will preserve the confidence of the public and international partners and ensure objectivity in further clarifications and possible investigations.
Earlier, the UNIAN news agency and the weekly Zerkalo Nedeli, published a journalistic investigation that showed that the Ukrainian Defense Ministry buys goods for its soldiers two to three times more expensive than the price offered by retail stores in Kiev.
The investigation highlights the agreement signed by the agency to provide catering services this year to military units in the Zhitomir, Kiev, Poltava, Sumy, Cherkasy and Chernigov regions, an operation that costs more than $350 million dollars.
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