President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has commented for the first time on the conflict surrounding the leadership change at the Defense Procurement Agency. He believes that Defense Minister Rustem Umerov "has the right to make any decisions necessary to ensure the uninterrupted supply of weapons" to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy stated in an interview with Associated Press.
According to the president, the defense minister "has the right to do everything to prevent any delays in supply, and he is fulfilling this duty."
Zelenskyy emphasized that this is especially important when there are institutional issues with contract signing or signs of decreasing support for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as "there can be no pauses in urgent decisions."
"We have a defense minister who clearly understands that, God forbid, if there are any pauses in supporting our army, there will not only be military losses – there will be civilian casualties, children will suffer, there will be more strikes, and Russia will grow stronger. He cannot afford any pause in supply. He has a contract," the president stated.
Background. Earlier, Mind reported that on January 24, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced he would not renew the contract of the current head of the Defense Procurement Agency, Maryna Bezrukova, despite the agency's Supervisory Board decision to extend her contract for another year. Instead, Arsen Zhumadilov, the head of another procurement agency, will take over leadership of the Defense Procurement Agency.
The defense minister also initiated an internal investigation at the agency. Maryna Bezrukova has been suspended from her position during the investigation.