The Public Anti-Corruption Council under the Ministry of Defense called on the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) and the political leadership of the state to intervene immediately in the conflict between the Ministry of Defense and the Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) on Saturday, January 25. The corresponding
statement was published by council member Tatyana Nikolenko. She noted that the anti-corruption council, as an independent institution, is ready to serve as a platform for dialogue among all parties for a swift and lawful resolution of the conflict. Nikolenko believes that, despite statements from certain participants in the conflict about its conclusion, the conflict is only escalating, which could disrupt the work of the DPA and "ultimately jeopardize international aid and the country's reputation as a reliable partner on the global stage." The statement from the Public Anti-Corruption Council emphasizes that the scandal has no rational reasons or explanations, or these reasons have never been publicly communicated by any of the parties, and the situation could have been rectified at any moment over the past few months, "with the lion's share of the blame for this lying with the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine." The anti-corruption council considers this situation to be the most vivid example of poor corporate governance, with blame on both sides, particularly the supervisory board having issues with selecting both an independent legal advisor and a corporate secretary for its operations. The Public Anti-Corruption Council also opposed the idea of effectively merging the DPA with another procurement agency – the State Logistics Operator (SLO), whose director, Arsen Jumadilov, Minister Rustem Umerov decided to appoint as the concurrent director of the DPA instead of Bezrukova. "We do not protect names; we protect institutions. The DPA must have legally established independence in decision-making and be accountable for these decisions. The supervisory board of the DPA cannot experience pressure in any form. The decision to elect the head of the Agency, to extend or not extend the contract with the head, must be the unconditional prerogative of the supervisory board and its unquestionable area of responsibility," the statement from the anti-corruption council under the Ministry of Defense notes, criticizing the Ministry of Defense's amendments to the charters of the DPA and SLO that limit the powers of their supervisory boards. The statement mentions that of the three independent members of the supervisory board, Patrick Auroye (France) refused to sign the contract and sent a letter withdrawing his candidacy on January 20. According to the anti-corruption council, after Umerov withdrew two representatives of the state from the supervisory board, only two members remain in the DPA's supervisory board, raising questions about the validity of the decision to extend Bezrukova's contract. Recall that the day before, Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov stated that he
would not extend the contract with the director of the Agency, Marina Bezrukova. The new director will be appointed as the chairman of the State Logistics Operator, Arsen Jumadilov. As a reason for the dismissal, he cited "political games, 'leaks' of contracts, 'leaks' of information, PR of inaction, and failure to fulfill KPIs by the subordinate enterprise of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine." Later, Bezrukova stated that according to the law, she
remains the acting head of the agency, calling Umerov's statement "an attempt to undermine all the reforms that were announced and promised to society."