Western officials have warned Ukraine that an escalating rift between the Defence Minister and procurement chief may jeopardise trust in the country, and urged the government to resolve the situation quickly so as not to disrupt weapons supplies.
The conflict began last week when the Ukrainian Defence Procurement Agency’s board unanimously voted to extend director Maryna Bezrukova’s contract for another year.
However, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov over-ruled the decision, refusing to renew her contract.
He accused her of poor performance and failing to deliver weapons and ammunition to front-line troops.
The decision provoked an outcry from legislators and anti-corruption watchdogs who said the minister’s move was not legal because Ms Bezrukova had her contract extended by the agency’s supervisory board in January.
Under Ukrainian law, Mr Umerov’s decision to go ahead with her dismissal is illegal.
The rift comes as US support for Ukraine is in question under the new administration of new President Donald Trump.
In a statement posted on Monday on social media platform X, ambassadors representing the G7 nations urged the government in Kyiv to resolve the situation “expeditiously and focus on keeping defence procurement going”.
“Consistency with good governance principles and Nato recommendations is important to maintain the trust of the public and international partners,” they said.
Following Mr Umerov’s decision, the Anti-Corruption Action Centre filed a complaint urging the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) to investigate him over alleged abuse of power.
Local media reported that NABU opened proceedings against Mr Umerov at the Anti-Corruption Action Centre’s request.
Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine exchanged drone barrages overnight in an attempt to strike deeper into their enemy’s territory.
The Russian military said it intercepted and destroyed 104 Ukrainian drones over nine Russian regions in one of the biggest drone attacks on Russia this year. No casualties or significant damage was reported.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 57 Shahed and other drones overnight.
Moscow also attacked with missiles overnight. In southern Mykolaiv, a Russian ballistic missile struck a food factory on Tuesday night, killing two female workers, regional head Vitalii Kim said.
Odesa authorities said Russian drones attacked port infrastructure in the Ismail district of the region that borders Nato member Romania.
Romania’s Ministry of National Defence said two F-16 fighter jets were dispatched at 3.20am local time (1.20am GMT) to monitor airspace for about two hours, and emergency authorities issued text alerts to some residents living in Tulcea county, which is across the Danube river near Ukrainian ports.
The ministry condemned the Russian attacks, calling them “unjustified and in serious contradiction with the norms of international law”, and said Nato allies have been informed.
Since the war next door started in February 2022, Romania has reported multiple airspace violations and confirmed drone fragments in its territory on several occasions.
