Corruption is a threat to the national security of Ukraine. Corruption in defense procurement should be classified as the most serious crime against a state that defends itself from the Russian aggressor. Legislative regulation of strict and inevitable (without a statute of limitations) liability of all officials and businesses for corrupt actions in this area is one of the key elements of the fight against this shameful phenomenon. NATO’s program to build integrity, transparency, accountability, introduce integrity and reduce corruption risks in defense and security institutions is precisely the platform that will help Ukraine on its path to integration into the Alliance. In addition, cooperation with non-governmental organizations and the establishment of public control over defense procurement will contribute to increasing the transparency of the security and defense sector. Parliament should become the President’s main ally in establishing effective control over this area.
In most cases, the classification of information in the field of security and defense is nothing more than attempts to hide from the public the incompetence of officials or abuse by the authorities. Ukraine has concluded agreements on the protection of information with NATO as an organization and on a bilateral basis with the Alliance member states. Parliamentary control over the activities of the security and defense sector should not be limited only to the adoption of the budget. It is extremely important for the Parliament to approve draft state target defense programs, to consider in detail the expenditures for intelligence and support for the activities of special services. Decisions on the purchase of weapons and other military goods, the cost of which exceeds UAH 10 million, must be coordinated with the relevant parliamentary committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. It is also necessary to protect potential foreign investors and manufacturers of munitions at the legislative level from the loss of technologies that are introduced with their help in Ukraine.
Along with increasing responsibility for corruption in the field of defense procurement, it is necessary to create an effective competitive environment. This involves not only increasing the number of national suppliers of goods, services and works, but also allowing foreign contractors to enter the market. The Prozorro system should be modernized to create a special module that, with access restrictions, should cover the entire scope of state defense procurement. To date, the EU Directive 2009/81/EC “On defense and sensitive security procurement” (as amended), which establishes rules for the procurement of weapons, ammunition and military materials, as well as works and services, understandable to all Europeans, has not been adapted into national legislation. The directive provides for rules that increase transparency and openness in defense markets between EU countries, and also ensure the protection of the security interests of individual countries. By implementing these rules, the arms market in Ukraine will become clear and predictable both at the national level and for foreign partners.
In accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On National Security”, adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in 2018, the State Corporation “Ukroboronprom” is a separate component of the defense-industrial complex of Ukraine, which is organizationally part of the security and defense sector of Ukraine. In addition, the defense-industrial complex of Ukraine includes private enterprises that currently fulfill up to 80% of the state defense order. It is private enterprises – manufacturers of military equipment and equipment – that receive up to 90% of foreign investments in R&D programs (research and development work). The reform of the State Corporation “Ukroboronprom” in the direction of demonopolization, corporatization and the introduction of a cluster approach to the production of weapons and equipment should logically end with the dissolution of this structure. The formation of policy in this area and the management of its implementation should be carried out by a separate executive body, which should be established. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure access of foreign manufacturers to the Ukrainian arms market through the implementation of offset programs and the establishment of joint production in Ukraine. This will allow us to obtain not isolated samples of weapons for the security and defense sector, but modern technologies and equipment. In turn, this will allow us to preserve and modernize the capacities of shipbuilding, aircraft and rocket engineering, and the production of armored vehicles, which are traditional for Ukraine, as well as to increase the number of jobs. The denationalization of the sphere of weapons production with simultaneous effective expert control by the state is a strategic task in this area.
“Blood trade blockade” is a fundamental issue for our political force. There should be no economic relations with the occupied territories. Only the provision of official humanitarian aid. Any attempts to establish trade relations with the occupied territories are a criminal offense for which those involved must be held accountable (without the right to amnesty). Establishing strict control over the contact line (including using modern means of technical control). Verification by independent bodies of the implementation of “blockade” measures. Strict liability of violators for smuggling.
Over the past years, the defense department has failed to conduct a full inventory and land cadastral documentation of defense lands. The issue of intended use, the legality of the denationalization and transfer of defense lands should be the subject of investigation by the relevant law enforcement agencies. Those involved in the crimes should be fairly punished, in accordance with the severity of the offense, and the defense lands illegally withdrawn from management should be returned to the state. At the same time, local authorities should provide assistance in determining the efficiency of the use of defense lands, which will allow balancing and optimizing the state’s needs in ensuring defense capability and economic needs.
The problem of providing housing for military personnel, their family members, and military pensioners is not new. This is the most corrupt area of activity of the defense department, as evidenced by the report of the Accounting Chamber, published in June 2018. The amount of abuses is approaching UAH 70 million. In the civilized world, in NATO and EU countries, which Ukraine is trying to become a member of, effective and modern mechanisms for solving this problem have long been found. The most important thing is transparency in the processes of providing housing for military personnel. Providing housing for military personnel should be carried out on the principles of social justice and taking into account individual contributions to ensuring the defense capability of the state (years of service, participation in combat operations, etc.). This can be achieved by: * depriving the Ministry of Defense of the inappropriate function of purchasing, building, and operating the housing stock; * state responsibility for providing service housing for persons undergoing military service, as well as for providing compensation for renting housing in the amount of average market value; * exclusion of expenses for providing permanent (personal) housing for military personnel from the budget of the Ministry of Defense; * introduction of preferential mortgage lending for the purchase of housing by military personnel (in a proportion determined depending on the length of military service); * purchase of housing for families of deceased military personnel and disabled persons at the expense of charitable funds (with partial exemption of the investor from taxes). The maintenance of housing and barracks in most garrisons should be outsourced. It is advisable to entrust the functions of construction of military infrastructure facilities within the framework of the task of operational equipment of the territory to an integrated structure created at the expense of the State Special Transport Service and the Engineering Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
