Defense ministry presented new procurement agency ‘State Rear Operator’

Source: Ukraine’s defense ministry

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine presented the new defense procurement agency ‘State Rear Operator’.

During the presentation in Kyiv, defense minister Rustem Umerov noted that the new procurement agency was designed according to the international standards and NATO principles.

According to him, the problem with unfair purchases for the defense sector has been going on for decades, and for the new team ‘it is important to put an end to this story’.

‘The army will receive everything on time, in sufficient quantity and quality, contractors will have clear rules and the ability to plan, the society will see fair and optimal prices,’ the minister stressed.

The ‘State Rear Operator’ will take over the responsibilities and launch all rear procurement processes for the Armed Forces – in particular, food, clothing, fuel, body armor, helmets.

The agency will start making purchases from the state budget in 2024.

During the presentation of the new agency, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces General Zaluzhnyi, noted that ‘the army expects that the concepts of the Armed Forces and corruption will be incompatible’.

‘The Armed Forces should concentrate on fulfilling their tasks. Not on the search of food, clothing, means of protection,’ the general stated.

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In my previous column, I wrote about social innovations in Ukraine. Those innovations are part of civic resilience and the democratization of security, which Europe is paying close attention to right now. The EU is trying to work out how to spread responsibility for its own security across society as a whole, rather than leaving it to institutions alone. It is looking for concrete ways to bring ordinary people into the work of defense and resistance.

Petro Poroshenko’s lawyers have appealed to the High Anti-Corruption Court demanding that NABU be obligated to register proceedings regarding the fact of exerting influence on the court and to recognize Petro Poroshenko as a victim in the case of the Deputy Head of the Office of the President, Iryna Mudra, due to her pressure on Supreme Court judges who were considering a lawsuit to overturn sanctions.

Internationally recognized brands and financial institutions should direct capital to Ukraine now, not waiting for the hostilities to end. This was emphasized by Rinat Akhmetov, president of FC Shakhtar, during a working visit to UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, where he met with UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin.