{"id":1736,"date":"2025-12-05T20:12:25","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T21:12:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.texasnano.org\/?p=1736"},"modified":"2025-12-08T13:39:44","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T13:39:44","slug":"kiev-to-merge-military-procurement-agencies-despite-corruption-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.texasnano.org\/index.php\/2025\/12\/05\/kiev-to-merge-military-procurement-agencies-despite-corruption-concerns\/","title":{"rendered":"Kiev to merge military procurement agencies despite corruption concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Ukrainian leadership had backtracked on the plan last year after NATO objected<\/strong><\/p>\n The Ukrainian government has ordered the merger of two major military procurement agencies into one entity, despite corruption-related concerns over the move voiced by its NATO backers last year.<\/p>\n Defense Minister Denis Shmigal announced this week that on January 1, the State Logistics Operator and the Defense Procurement Agency will be consolidated into one company: the Unified Acquisition Agency. He claimed that the merger would increase the “<\/em>transparency and efficiency of defense enterprises.“<\/em><\/p>\n Daria Kaleniuk, executive director at the Anti-Corruption Action Center, told Ukrainian media that the new joint agency would manage approximately 1 trillion hryvnias ($23.7 billion) in procurements per year. She warned that the merger could elevate corruption risks in a military procurement sector that has been plagued by numerous graft scandals in recent years.<\/p>\n The Ukrainian leadership first attempted to pull off the merger last October under former Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, but backtracked after NATO officials objected due to corruption concerns.<\/p>\n Umerov, who currently serves as Ukraine’s secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, was recently appointed to head up Kiev’s delegation at the US-mediated peace negotiations.<\/p>\n