Ukraine's Defense Minister Valeriy Heletei has filed a lawsuit against Batkivshyna Party leader Yulia Tymoshenko for libel. She had accused his ministry of selling arms to Russia-backed militants in the east of Ukraine, Heletei announced on Oct. 8.
Earlier Tymoshenko filed a report to the State Security Service calling for an investigation into arms sales during the war and evidence of corruption in state-run Ukroboronprom concern. Tymoshenko said those arms could have ended in the hands of separatists.
“Since the beginning of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine the ministry has sold 35,900 Kalashnikovs, 1,237 grenades, nearly 5,000 aircraft missiles, 60 Fagot anti-tank missiles. And besides that at least 10 armored personnel vehicles, 23 drones, 10,000 helmets and two Mi-8 helicopters were sold,” Tymoshenko said on Sept. 26. “It’s a treason.”
Tymoshenko said that she also had information that the ministry is preparing to sell arms to other countries, including Nigeria. But Heletei said he opposed the export of Ukrainian weapons while war is raging in Ukraine’s Donbas.
He said the contract that obliged Ukraine to deliver military hardware to Nigeria “was signed by a company that has nothing to do with the Defense Ministry,” adding that the contracts on weapons deliveries to Nigeria were signed during the presidency of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in 2012-2013.
“In times of war it is absurd to sell weaponry. I realize that the penalties will be enormous. Let’s end the war first and sort things out later,” he said.
Heletei also said that the prosecutor’s office investigated Tymoshenko’s allegations and “found no evidence of military assets sales since July 2014.” He said Tymoshenko has to apologize to the Ukrainian soldiers, “especially those who are fighting in the country’s anti-terrorist zone.”
Heletei failed to address many other issues during his briefing, including the exact number of casualties suffered by the army. He did say that at least 224 Ukrainian servicemen are still held captive by Russia-backed militants as of Oct. 8.
The minister stressed that the relatives of captive soldiers and those reported to be missing will get monetary compensations.
Representatives of volunteer battalions dispute the ministry’s figures for prisoners-of-war. Semen Semenchenko, the commander of Donbas Battalion, said at a live talk show on Oct. 9 that “around 800 soldiers are held captive by the militants in eastern Ukraine.”
The minister also said he would personally inspect the army’s readiness for the winter starting Oct. 10. He thanked volunteers for their help equipping the army.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry earlier promised to provide winter uniforms and heating equipment to soldiers by Oct. 15. “It would be good to provide each soldier with at least two sets of winter clothing, but we don’t have financial ability for that,” Heletei said.
Kyiv Post staff writer Olena Goncharova can be reached at [email protected]
