Last Update: January 22, 2023, 21:10 IST
A Ukrainian soldier holds a Russian flag during a demonstration in Izium, Kharkiv region, Ukraine (Image: Reuters)
Eggs, which cost about 19 US cents in a store, were contracted for 46 cents, according to news website ZN.UA, while the ministry also signed up for potatoes at more than double the retail price.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry on Sunday denied reports that food prices had been heavily inflated for a recent contract in the worst corruption scandal to engulf the armed forces since the start of the war.
National media reports on Saturday accused the ministry of signing a deal at prices “two to three times higher” than current rates for basic food items.
Eggs, which cost about 19 US cents in a store, were contracted for 46 cents, according to news website ZN.UA, while the ministry also signed up for potatoes at more than double the retail price.
It said the contract signed for 2023 would be worth 13 billion hryvnia, which is more than $350 million at the current rate.
The Ministry of Defense called the reports “false” and said that “the products concerned are procured in accordance with the procedure established by law”.
But it said it would investigate how the information was shared, saying it “harmed the interests of the defense during a sensitive period”.
The ministry said that “control is carried out” over the signed contracts, and announced that it would launch an internal audit and hold an emergency meeting with Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov on Monday.
“If violations are found in the activities of officials of the Ministry of Defense, they will be held accountable in accordance with existing law,” the ministry said.
Embezzlement in Ukraine is at its peak. In another scandal that surfaced over the weekend, the country’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) questioned a deputy minister on suspicion of embezzlement, according to the infrastructure ministry.
NABU said Vasyl Lozinski, in office since May 2020, “received ($400,000) to facilitate the conclusion of contracts for the purchase of equipment and generators.”
Ukraine is experiencing power shortages following Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)