The Ministry of Defense has clarified the reasons behind the dismissal of Bezrukova.

This was reported by Novini.LIVE correspondent Alexander Sayun during a Ministry of Defense briefing on Friday, January 31.

Situation Surrounding the Defense Procurement Agency

First Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Havryliuk noted that today, Bezrukova was dismissed from her position as head of the state enterprise, and Arsen Zhumadilov was appointed as the acting head. According to him, this decision was made to prevent further failures in supplying the Defense Forces with necessary defense-related goods.

He mentioned that unlike the State Procurement Agency, another state enterprise, the "State Logistics Operator," operates quite effectively, while the AOP experienced significant failures.

"By the end of 2024, the issue had transformed into a media or political matter, not regarding structure, but concerning the personality of the agency's leader. No one intends to cease the operation of these two enterprises; we only want to make them effective bodies that fulfill the tasks assigned to them," Havryliuk stated.

He also added that the Ministry of Defense accounts for nearly 80% of the entire budget allocated to the Defense Forces — about 1.5 trillion hryvnias overall, with over 400 billion designated for the procurement, repair, and maintenance of military equipment.

"And we cannot allow a decrease in the monthly provision of the Armed Forces' needs for consistent and timely supply to maintain and stabilize the front line and facilitate further actions towards achieving victory," emphasized the Deputy Minister.

Additionally, the Chief of Logistics Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Sergey Bulavko, explained that the decision not to extend Bezrukova's contract aims to prevent disruptions in the supply of armaments and equipment in accordance with the tasks defined by the Supreme Commander.

"Regarding Bezrukova, I can say that the ministry is trying to avoid a similar failure in supplies as occurred in 2024," he added.

Comment on Bezrukova

The agency noted that they are not law enforcement bodies and do not have the authority to take any measures regarding the situation with the Agency. According to a representative of the Ministry of Defense, law enforcement will provide comments in due time.

"I believe this was an attempt to regain control over the state enterprise, as we had become practically non-operational at that moment: both in signing contracts and in executing the relevant payments for already concluded contracts," Havryliuk said.

Recall that on January 25, the Anti-Corruption Center appealed to NABU with accusations against Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. They alleged "abuse of office" due to the refusal to extend Bezrukova's contract.

Later, NABU opened a case regarding the situation surrounding the Defense Procurement Agency.

Today, Bezrukova called on Zelensky to intervene in the situation to resolve it legally.

The Ministry of Defense's press service also announced the termination of Bezrukova's contract today. It will not be continued.