Russia-Ukraine war: Ukrainian lawmakers draft defense transparency bill

The lawmakers of Ukraine’s governing party drafted legislation that would boost transparency in the country’s defense procurement. The legislation comes amidst a corruption scandal surrounding an army food contract.

The lawmakers of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People Party drafted legislation to boost transparency in defense procurement. Zelenskyy had sought to take a tougher stance against graft when the defense ministry faced accusations from a local media outlet that it was overspending on food. The ministry has denied such allegations.

Anastasia Radina, a member of the governing party who also chairs the parliamentary committee for anti-corruption matters, said the bill would require that the prices paid for products and services for the army be made public on the country’s procurement website. Arms purchases, however, will not be required to do so under the new legislation.

“We are obliged to ensure a level of transparency in procurement for the army, under which such scandals simply will not arise. Can it be done in a way that does not expose customers and suppliers to additional risks? Yes,” said Radina.

The legislation has been sent to parliament for debate and would require three votes to pass before Zelenskyy signs the bill into law.

Ukrainian security council head Oleksiy Danylov said the country’s defense spending went up to 32.5 percent of its GDP since Russia’s invasion in February last year.

On Wednesday, Zelenskyy urged a senior United Nations official to help find a way to resolve the forced deportation of thousands of Ukrainians into Russia, usually in remote areas thousands of kilometers away from Ukraine since Russia invaded last year. Moscow has denied the allegations of criminal mistreatment, saying the deportations were evacuations.

“The discussion focused above all on our people that the occupiers have deported to Russia, said Zelenskyy in his nightly video address, referring to his talks with UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi earlier in the day.

“These are adults, these are our children. A mechanism is needed to protect and bring back people and to bring to account all those who are guilty of deportations. I am certain the UN institutions can show leadership in resolving this issue,” said Zelenskyy.