Ukraine suspends senior defense official amid corruption probe

Mr Umerov took office last year with a pledge to clean up corruption in Ukraine's defence ministry in order to convince Western partners to send more aid.

Ukraine suspends senior defense official for corruption investigation photo 1 — Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. Photo: Reuters

Toomas Nakhkur, head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's technical and armament policy development department, has been suspended after being named the main suspect in a criminal case, the ministry said, adding that the decision took effect on February 1.

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said last week it had uncovered a scheme by current and former officials to embezzle about $40 million in artillery shell purchases. The SBU did not name the suspects, but Ukrainian media identified Nakhkur as one of them.

Minister Umerov's predecessor was dismissed last September following a number of corruption scandals at the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, despite his close ties to Kiev's Western allies.

Several high-ranking sources and media in Ukraine said that the Ukrainian government had also informed the White House that it planned to remove the commander-in-chief of the country's armed forces, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, who led the fighting in the conflict with Russia.

According to Reuters, a source close to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office said that the process of removing Mr. Zaluzhnyi from the post of Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine is currently delayed as officials are still considering who will replace him.

Bui Huy (according to Reuters)

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