Ukroboronprom thwarts alleged raid attempt

State defense monopoly Ukroboronprom has regained
control over Ukrspetseksport, its sales and procurement subsidiary, the Interfax-Ukraine
news agency reported on Sept. 27, citing Ukroboronprom Deputy General Director
Roman Bondar. The company’s leadership signed a decree to cancel the new
regulations that had been signed in mid-August by former Ukroboronprom General
Director Pavlo Bukin that granted autonomy to Ukrspetseksport. “It’s wild when
one part of the company is raiding another,” Bondar said, referring to alleged
attempts by Pavlo Bukin to take control of Ukrspetseksport.

The resignation of Oleksandr Danylyuk, secretary of
the National Security and Defense Council, was approved by Ukrainian President
Zelensky with a decree signed on Sept. 30. Danylyuk drew criticism the same day
for not creating a coordinating center for military and defense reforms that he
had announced in early July. This was supposed to be a working group aimed as
quickly reforming Ukroboronprom, Danylyuk said at the time.

“The very idea of creating a coordinating center
conflicted with the government’s authority on reforming state defense procurements
and the statements of Ukroboronprom’s new director Aivaras Abromavicius on
creating a professional supervisory board for the enterprise. So it’s no wonder
that this idea remained on paper,” said on Sept. 30 Hlib Kanyevskiy, the head
of the StateWatch organization.