Ukrainian govt appoints another three deputy defence ministers
The Ukrainian government on Thursday appointed another three deputy defence ministers, a part of a reboot of the agency that plays a critical role in Ukraine’s fight against Russian full-scale invasion.
Before today’s appointment, Ivan Havryliuk was deputy chief of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and head of the main logistics directorate; Stanislav Haider, led digital transformation and the National Agency on Corruption Prevention; and Dmytro Klimenkov, first deputy head of the state property fund.
In a separate statement, the defence ministry said that Mr Klimenkov will be responsible for defence procurement, which has been plagued in scandals.
He has previously worked at Ukrtransgaz, the State Property Fund, Ukraine International Airlines, and Ericsson.
At Ukrtransgaz, Mr Klimenkov managed to exceed the plan for gas injection into underground storage facilities by more than 50 percent and increase the number of non-resident customers by 15 percent, the statement reads.
As deputy defence minister, he will be responsible for defence procurement policies, and both lethal and non-lethal procurement.
The reshuffle in one of the key agencies as Ukraine faces Russian full-scale aggression is believed to be linked with the appointment of a new defence chief, Rustem Umerov, last month.
His predecessor, Mr Reznikov has been widely credited for building a rapport with Western partners crucial for Ukrainian military assistance but has also been plagued in a number of corruption scandals related to the procurement of materiel for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
