Yanukovych defense minister suspected in theft, treason

Dmytro Salamatin, the defense minister under former
President Viktor Yanukovych, has been named a suspect in criminal charges of
treason, theft and undermining Ukraine’s security, Prosecutor General of
Ukraine Yuriy Lutsenko announced on his Facebook page on Jan. 14. Salamatin was
a key member of Yanukovych’s crime organization that committed treason against
the Ukrainian state on behalf of Russia, he said. In particular, Salamatin was
responsible for terminating contracts between the Iraqi government and three
Ukrainian defense contractors for the supply, repair and servicing of military
hardware, costing USD 560 mln in lost revenue. These were intentional actions
“aimed at squeezing Ukraine from the global armaments market in Russia’s favor”
that undermined Ukraine’s defense and security, he said. Lutsenko’s brief post
didn’t offer details about the alleged theft, only to state that the charge
involved taking property of high value by means of abusing his authority.

Zenon Zawada: It’s rather
moot to see such criminal charges being announced so many years after these
crimes were committed and moreover, so long after the EuroMaidan politicians
promised prosecution. Moreover, naming a suspect is not the same as filing
criminal charges. It’s unclear whether Lutsenko is making this announcement
only because the investigation has taken so long (which is embarrassing, in our
view), or because the president’s re-election campaign is underway. It’s
possible the Poroshenko Administration is drudging up the crimes of the
Yanukovych Administration to make Ukrainians fearful of a Russian political
revanche (which it alleges will happen under a Tymoshenko presidency).

At this point, we believe making such statements even
works against the president because it reminds voters of his failure to convict
anyone from the Yanukovych administration (and possible conspiracies to protect
them from prosecution, as alleged by some MPs). That’s all the more the case
when such serious charges as treason are announced, without any prominent
figures being prosecuted, let alone convicted. Moreover, Western sanctions
against some of them have gradually expired due to the inaction of Ukrainian
authorities, as alleged by some MPs.