In case of losing, he will resign: the Head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Reznikov, proposed a bet to a Member of Parliament and a journalist due to the scandal over the procurement of uniforms for the Ukrainian Armed Forces

Ukrainian Minister of Defense, Oleksiy Reznikov, amidst accusations against his ministry regarding the procurement of summer jackets instead of winter ones, has proposed a bet. He pledged to step down from his position if the media’s information about the jackets for the Ukrainian Armed Forces proves true.

However, if the information is false, the minister stated that Member of Parliament Anastasiia Radina (head of the Anti-Corruption Policy Committee) should resign, and journalist from “UP” news agency, Mykhailo Tkach, should step away from journalism for three years.

Reznikov made these statements in an interview with the “Babel” publication.

As referees for the bet, Reznikov invites the Verkhovna Rada’s Committee on Ethics and the Commission on Journalistic Ethics. Various Ukrainian media outlets would serve as observers.

The Defense Minister promised to provide all documents, evidence, facts, and materials related to the case “to make the winner of the dispute obvious to the entire Ukrainian society.”

To recap, journalists conducted an investigation and found that the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense procured substandard jackets for the Ukrainian Armed Forces at triple the actual price. According to the contract signed with a Turkish company in the autumn of 2022, the jackets were supposed to be camouflage. However, upon arrival in Ukraine, they were labeled as “winter air-protective” jackets and their price increased threefold.

Initially, the Ministry of Defense denied any involvement in the purchase of substandard uniforms for the Armed Forces. They claimed that their units had no connection to the uniform procurement process, determination of needs, selection of suppliers, contract signing, etc.

Later, the Ministry of Defense acknowledged “insignificant” shortcomings in the uniform, which eventually became the subject of a criminal investigation.

Earlier today, the media reported that one of the owners of the Turkish company that provided the Ukrainian Armed Forces with summer jackets instead of winter ones at an inflated price of 35 million hryvnias was the nephew of the “Servant of the People” party’s Member of Parliament, Hennadii Kasaie – Alexander Kasaie.