Arsen Zhumadilov officially appointed as new Defense Procurement Agency head
Ukraine's Defense Ministry officially appointed Arsen Zhumadilov as the new head of the Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) on March 6, said the agency responsible for weapons purchases for the military.
At the same time, Zhumadilov resigned as chief of the State Rear Operator (DOT), a sister agency overseeing the procurement of non-lethal supplies for the Armed Forces. Andrii Sozanskyi, DOT's executive director, replaced him as acting director.
The defense procurement sector was reshaped in December 2023, aiming to meet NATO standards. The DPA, first established in August 2022, was to focus solely on lethal aid. Meanwhile, the DOT was formed to purchase non-lethal aid such as food and clothing.
"The Defense Ministry should work more efficiently. There are very high expectations from everyone involved in the defense sector. Changes are objectively overdue and perhaps overripe. We all have no time to delay any longer," Zhumadilov said.
The official appointment came more than a month after the scandal in procurement agencies.
In late January, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov refused to extend the contract with the former DPA director Maryna Bezrukova for another year over supposedly poor performance, defying the DPA Supervisory Board's decision. According to Bezrukova, Umerov's move caused a "legal conflict" inside the organization, reportedly blocking its procurement functions.
At the same time, the minister appointed Zhumadilov, who also runs the DOT, as interim director-general of the DPA.
One of NATO and European partners' requirements for Ukraine was the establishment of two agencies that would be directly responsible for procurement for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, not through the Defense Ministry or contractors.
According to Ukrainian law, supervisory boards can hire and fire the heads of state enterprises unilaterally. This means that legally, after the board's vote, Bezrukova should have taken over the DPA for another year.
However, the Defense Ministry, which oversees the DPA, amended the agency's charter so the ministry can reverse the supervisory board's decisions.
Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) is investigating possible abuses of power by Umerov.
Read also: Trump's alignment with Russia derails Europe's push for a peacekeeping force in Ukraine
We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Zelenskyy says he regrets that Oval Office blowup, but he's still pushing Trump
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he regrets that his Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump in late February spun out of control, but explained that it was his impatience to reach "concrete decisions" during wartime that led to the blowup. 'We simply don't have that much time in our lives. I wanted concrete decisions,' Zelenskyy said on Wednesday in an interview in Odessa with the Axel Springer Global Reporters network, which includes POLITICO. 'We were unable to make certain decisions, extremely important decisions. I don't know whether America was ready to address these issues or not. I have to resolve this issue of war. You see, time is very precious. Not my personal time, but the time of my country.' Zelenskyy also said he liked his one-on-one meeting with Trump, held two months later on the sidelines of Pope Francis' funeral at The Vatican, much 'better' than his ill-fated visit to the White House. 'We were able to discuss much more than at the other meeting, which felt like it lasted a lifetime,' Zelenskyy said, describing Trump as 'friendly.' Ukraine's embattled president, whose assertiveness and persistent requests for additional aid also privately irked President Joe Biden and his top aides, has worked assiduously to improve his relationship with Trump since that fateful February encounter. And the two countries did eventually sign the economic agreement to jointly develop Ukraine's rare earth minerals once the war is over, a pact that was temporarily tabled when the White House visit went sideways. Yet he also suggested in the interview that even his war-torn country may be able to turn the war into a new phase. 'Relations between our countries are not entirely balanced, but that was in the past,' Zelenskyy said. 'And today we must do everything we can to ensure that the next meeting in the Oval Office is successful for both countries. The lives of many people depend on it. And peace depends on it. Many countries in Europe depend on whether there will be security and peace in Ukraine. The security and stability of many countries in Europe depend on it.' After months of trying to browbeat Ukraine into negotiating a peace deal that would have required them to permanently cede occupied territory to Russia, Trump is showing a new willingness to allow the war to continue. That's seemingly a response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's refusal to seriously engage in peace talks. With Trump possibly rethinking his approach, Zelenskyy pushed the White House to maintain a sense of urgency and increase its pressure on Moscow. 'It's important to impose sanctions. We shouldn't... play by Putin's rules. It is important to impose sanctions and force Putin to agree to a ceasefire so that we can talk about ending the war,' Zelenskyy said. He will have a chance to make another direct appeal to Trump next week when he is scheduled to attend the G-7 leader's summit in the Canadian Rockies. Trump, during a meeting last week with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, expressed hesitation about giving the Senate a green light to advance widely supported legislation to impose additional sanctions on Russia. Describing the proposal in its original form as 'very harsh' on Russia, the president has been privately skeptical about the effectiveness of sanctions and, for months, has believed taking a harder stance toward Putin would backfire. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. But with the Russian leader unwilling to make any substantive concessions toward a ceasefire while stepping up his bombings of Ukrainian cities, Trump appears to be shifting course away from his push for peace and tempering his hopes for a fast rapprochement with Putin. In Wednesday's interview, Zelenskyy said Trump remains the key figure who can bring the war to an end and urged the president to allow the sanctions bill to move forward. 'The strength of the sanctions, how strong the sanctions package will be, depends on him,' Zelenskyy said. 'The speed with which decisions are made depends on him; we don't see any resistance from the senators, for example. On the contrary, the majority is in favor.' Trump, during the meeting with Merz, said the timeline for when he'll have to toughen up with Putin is 'in my head' — a statement that Zelenskyy said gave him hope that the stronger pressure he's asking for from the U.S. will eventually come. 'I very much hope that President Trump will stick to it,' Zelenskyy said. 'It's not even about the fact that he promised during the election campaign that he would end the war. That's not the point. It's more that he is a certain person — and let's also consider his age — and I think it's important for him, I hope it's important for him to end the war. He has spoken about it very often, he has repeated many times that he will end the killing.' Zelenskyy also spoke about Operation Spider Web, the clandestine and ultimately successful endeavor to sneak drones into Russia that earlier this month succeeded in taking out roughly a third of Putin's long-range bomber fleet. Trump, whose aides said he did not get a heads up about the attack, expressed only mild frustration over the attack and stated that Putin, in a call last week, told him that he planned to retaliate soon. The attack, Zelenskyy said, ushered the war into 'a new phase,' suggesting that Kyiv is also capable of escalation if the fledgling peace talks run aground. 'I think that both in the U.S. and everywhere else, we must do everything we can to end this war so that we do not have further phases in this war.'
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Russia using peace talks to stall US sanctions, Zelensky says
Russia is attempting to delay peace negotiations to avoid tougher U.S. sanctions, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with German tabloid Bild on June 12. His comments come as Russia continues to reject a full ceasefire despite having initiated two rounds of peace talks in Istanbul — first on May 16 and on June 2. Both rounds resulted in agreements on prisoner exchanges, but failed to deliver progress toward ending hostilities. During the negotiations, Moscow ramped up ground offensives and launched massive attacks on Ukrainian cities. "It's important for them to show (U.S. President Donald) Trump that there is a diplomatic bridge between Ukraine and Russia," Zelensky told Bild. "So that sanctions aren't imposed against Russia" while talks are ongoing, Zelensky said, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin's strategy is to maintain the illusion of dialogue and then argue: "We're talking to each other! If sanctions are imposed, there will be no more talks." Zelensky warned that Moscow's goal is not peace but buying time. "Putin feels that his economy is now suffering," he said. "But he wants to gain even more time until the strong sanctions are introduced, because he can still hold out for some time." Trump has previously warned he would impose new sanctions on Moscow, but has yet to take the step. On June 5, Trump said he was withholding the move in hopes of a potential peace deal but warned he could act if Russia continues to stall. "When I see the moment where it's not going to stop... we'll be very tough," Trump told reporters. Critics, as well as Zelensky, argue that the slow implementation of sanctions gave Russia time to adapt its economy and defense sector. "The main mistake of the sanctions was that they were introduced too slowly," Zelensky said. Trump has repeatedly said he is monitoring the situation and hinted sanctions could come soon if progress is not made. Meanwhile, a bipartisan bill in the U.S. Senate that would impose harsh tariffs on countries buying Russian oil remains on hold as lawmakers await Trump's signal. Read also: 'Deadline is in my brain' — Trump dismisses timeline to impose Russian sanctions We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Politico
an hour ago
- Politico
Zelenskyy says he regrets that Oval Office blowup, but he's still pushing Trump
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he regrets that his Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump in late February spun out of control, but explained that it was his impatience to reach 'concrete decisions' during wartime that led to the blowup. 'We simply don't have that much time in our lives. I wanted concrete decisions,' Zelenskyy said on Wednesday in an interview in Odessa with the Axel Springer Global Reporters network, which includes POLITICO. 'We were unable to make certain decisions, extremely important decisions. I don't know whether America was ready to address these issues or not. I have to resolve this issue of war. You see, time is very precious. Not my personal time, but the time of my country.' Zelenskyy also said he liked his one-on-one meeting with Trump, held two months later on the sidelines of Pope Francis' funeral at The Vatican, much 'better' than his ill-fated visit to the White House. 'We were able to discuss much more than at the other meeting, which felt like it lasted a lifetime,' Zelenskyy said, describing Trump as 'friendly.' Ukraine's embattled president, whose assertiveness and persistent requests for additional aid also privately irked President Joe Biden and his top aides, has worked assiduously to improve his relationship with Trump since that fateful February encounter. And the two countries did eventually sign the economic agreement to jointly develop Ukraine's rare earth minerals once the war is over, a pact that was temporarily tabled when the White House visit went sideways. Yet he also suggested in the interview that even his war-torn country may be able to turn the war into a new phase. 'Relations between our countries are not entirely balanced, but that was in the past,' Zelenskyy said. 'And today we must do everything we can to ensure that the next meeting in the Oval Office is successful for both countries. The lives of many people depend on it. And peace depends on it. Many countries in Europe depend on whether there will be security and peace in Ukraine. The security and stability of many countries in Europe depend on it.' After months of trying to browbeat Ukraine into negotiating a peace deal that would have required them to permanently cede occupied territory to Russia, Trump is showing a new willingness to allow the war to continue. That's seemingly a response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's refusal to seriously engage in peace talks. With Trump possibly rethinking his approach, Zelenskyy pushed the White House to maintain a sense of urgency and increase its pressure on Moscow. 'It's important to impose sanctions. We shouldn't... play by Putin's rules. It is important to impose sanctions and force Putin to agree to a ceasefire so that we can talk about ending the war,' Zelenskyy said. He will have a chance to make another direct appeal to Trump next week when he is scheduled to attend the G-7 leader's summit in the Canadian Rockies. Trump, during a meeting last week with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, expressed hesitation about giving the Senate a green light to advance widely supported legislation to impose additional sanctions on Russia. Describing the proposal in its original form as 'very harsh' on Russia, the president has been privately skeptical about the effectiveness of sanctions and, for months, has believed taking a harder stance toward Putin would backfire. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. But with the Russian leader unwilling to make any substantive concessions toward a ceasefire while stepping up his bombings of Ukrainian cities, Trump appears to be shifting course away from his push for peace and tempering his hopes for a fast rapprochement with Putin. In Wednesday's interview, Zelenskyy said Trump remains the key figure who can bring the war to an end and urged the president to allow the sanctions bill to move forward. 'The strength of the sanctions, how strong the sanctions package will be, depends on him,' Zelenskyy said. 'The speed with which decisions are made depends on him; we don't see any resistance from the senators, for example. On the contrary, the majority is in favor.' Trump, during the meeting with Merz, said the timeline for when he'll have to toughen up with Putin is 'in my head' — a statement that Zelenskyy said gave him hope that the stronger pressure he's asking for from the U.S. will eventually come. 'I very much hope that President Trump will stick to it,' Zelenskyy said. 'It's not even about the fact that he promised during the election campaign that he would end the war. That's not the point. It's more that he is a certain person — and let's also consider his age — and I think it's important for him, I hope it's important for him to end the war. He has spoken about it very often, he has repeated many times that he will end the killing.' Zelenskyy also spoke about Operation Spider Web, the clandestine and ultimately successful endeavor to sneak drones into Russia that earlier this month succeeded in taking out roughly a third of Putin's long-range bomber fleet. Trump, whose aides said he did not get a heads up about the attack, expressed only mild frustration over the attack and stated that Putin, in a call last week, told him that he planned to retaliate soon. The attack, Zelenskyy said, ushered the war into 'a new phase,' suggesting that Kyiv is also capable of escalation if the fledgling peace talks run aground. 'I think that both in the U.S. and everywhere else, we must do everything we can to end this war so that we do not have further phases in this war.'
