The Ministry of Defense stated that the State Enterprise did not enter into direct contracts but acted as a special exporter.

The State Enterprise "Defense Procurement Agency," during the leadership of Maryna Bezrukova, did not enter into direct contracts, except for those with domestic manufacturers, essentially acting as special exporters.

This was stated by Deputy Minister of Defense Ivan Havryliuk at a briefing, reports Interfax-Ukraine.

"They promised that the state enterprise was created to establish direct contracts. There are no direct contracts, except for those signed with domestic manufacturers, and maybe a few dozen with foreign ones. Everything else—the agency effectively played the role of those same special exporters. That is, they sign contracts with intermediaries, and the intermediary signs with the respective manufacturer,” said Havryliuk.

According to him, the Agency never took full responsibility for the procurement process. Havryliuk reminded that the need for procurement is determined by the General Staff.

When asked whether the Ministry of Defense also bears certain responsibilities for each agreed contract, the deputy minister replied that it does not.

"The situation is such that you hired a worker, paid him, he did not perform the work he was supposed to do, and you share responsibility with him? We have more than seventy state enterprises. We currently have problems with only one state enterprise. And it happens to be the one that is the most fundamental and from which the main task assigned to the Ministry of Defense—ensuring the Armed Forces of Ukraine—depends,” said Havryliuk.

He added that if the Ministry of Defense shares responsibility with the Defense Procurement Agency, then "the question arises, why have this state enterprise." The ministry officially recommended not to extend the contract with the director, justifying its decision. However, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board did not communicate this information to all members of the Supervisory Board.

The day before, the Ministry of Defense officially announced that on January 31, it dismissed the director of the State Enterprise of the Ministry of Defense "Defense Procurement Agency," Maryna Bezrukova, and appointed Arsen Zhumadilov as the acting director.

"This decision by the ministry is justified by the need to ensure stable and continuous provision of the front with weapons and ammunition," the statement said.

Among the key reasons for changing the leadership of the Defense Procurement Agency, the Ministry of Defense cited the failure to meet planned supplies for the front, numerous remarks from the General Staff regarding poor planning of defense procurements and untimely communication from the Agency, and unjustified postponements of supply schedules.

The ministry also noted "absolutely unacceptable numerous leaks of closed information, which will become a separate subject of investigation by law enforcement agencies."

In light of the interest in this matter, the Ministry of Defense clarified the legal aspects of the change in leadership of the Agency.

It is noted that the first founding meeting of the Supervisory Board took place on December 17, 2024, almost two months after the appointment of the first three members by the Minister of Defense (which is sufficient for its legitimacy). "The Agency failed to ensure proper legal formalization of relations with all members of the Supervisory Board, which led to delays in its work," the ministry stated. For the full start of work, the members of the Supervisory Board needed to sign contracts with the Agency.

On January 20, 2025, one of the independent members of the Supervisory Board reported leaving the board. The reason was the lack of proper communication from the Agency regarding the agreement on the details of the contract with him. The number of members of the Supervisory Board decreased to four, which disrupted the balance and effectiveness of its work. Additionally, this does not comply with the legal requirement that the majority of members must be independent.

The Ministry of Defense emphasized that regarding the extension of Bezrukova's contract, the head of the Supervisory Board did not ensure proper communication with its members and the Ministry of Defense. Thus, on January 21, the Ministry of Defense officially recommended not to extend the contract with the director, "justifying its decision."

"Some members of the board reported that they did not receive the positions of the Ministry of Defense, although they were sent officially. After the Ministry of Defense independently sent its position to all members of the Supervisory Board, the independent members changed their minds and voted against signing an additional agreement to extend the contract with the director," the ministry noted.

The Ministry of Defense pointed out that when Bezrukova was hired at the Agency in January 2024, the contract was concluded by the ministry. Therefore, extending the contract with the director required the Ministry of Defense's consent.

Background. Earlier, Mind reported that NABU initiated a criminal proceeding against Umierov on the grounds of abuse of power following the minister's statement about the non-extension of Bezrukova's contract.

–

«

»