Overcoming corruption in the defense sector is one of the indispensable conditions for Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration. According to the Law of Ukraine “On National Security”, the defense forces include the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as other military formations established in accordance with the laws of Ukraine. Ways to solve the problem can be illustrated by the example of the largest defense department – the Ministry of Defense. When determining methods of combating corruption, it is necessary to distinguish four main areas, each of which has corruption risks. The first is the procurement of military equipment, weapons, various goods and services on the domestic and foreign markets; The second is the formation of the cost of products and services purchased on the domestic market through a non-competitive procedure; The third is the use of resources purchased and at the disposal of the military department; The fourth is the performance of tasks within the framework of a joint forces operation. Each of the indicated areas requires a special set of measures to combat corruption. The main method of combating corruption in the procurement sector is competitive procedures and civilian control. To do this, it is necessary to reduce to a reasonable minimum the procurement procedure from a single contractor and the secrecy in the preparation, approval and execution of state defense orders. In addition, the army must get rid of inappropriate purchases. Example 1: Removing unjustified secrecy from state defense orders and effective civilian control will eliminate attempts to impose missile boats manufactured by Kuzny on Rybalskoye on the Armed Forces at a price six times higher than the cost of foreign analogues. Example 2: A phased transition from the practice of allocating housing purchased by Ministry of Defense officials to those on the waiting list to a system of providing contract servicemen with official housing with the simultaneous implementation of a preferential mortgage program that provides for the right of a serviceman to independently choose an apartment on the market. When forming the cost of products and services purchased by the Ministry of Defense on the domestic market through a non-competitive procedure, it is necessary to control the entire cost chain, especially imported components. In addition, the military acceptance must insist on minimizing imported components, except for justified cases. Example: there are many cases when, for example, the military acceptance “presses” the manufacturer of an armored vehicle to 5-7% profitability, but at the same time the price of the order is artificially inflated due to the fact that components actually manufactured in the country are purchased by the manufacturer through an offshore company. The problem of effective use of resources purchased and at the disposal of the military department is multifaceted and requires systemic changes in the work of the departmental audit of the Ministry of Defense and the creation of a military police authorized to conduct operational and investigative actions on the territory of military units. In addition, it is necessary to introduce non-traditional methods and procedures. Example 1: The procedure for privatizing service housing used in the army is nothing more than a “legitimate” and criminogenic method of violating the priority of providing servicemen with housing. This practice must be stopped. Regular servicemen who have served a certain term should be provided with housing in order of priority. For contract workers of the “new wave”, it is necessary to separate the issues of providing service housing and purchasing housing as property. The latter should become part of the motivational package and take place within the framework of a preferential mortgage program. Example 2: One of the methods of organizing the catering of servicemen that is practiced is deliveries according to the catalog. There are many cases when, for example, basic products are ordered in the volumes actually consumed by servicemen of the unit, and scarce products, such as red fish, kiwi, etc., are within the needs of commanders and do not reach the soldiers. All that is needed is to introduce a procedure that requires the mandatory posting in the dining room of a complete list and quantity of products received, and the problem will be largely solved.
The solution to this problem is to change approaches to classifying information. Not entire information sets should be classified, but only certain fragments of it, the publication of which directly threatens the military, political, economic and other interests of the state. As a rule, the price characteristics of products purchased on the domestic market in the interests of the Armed Forces are classified for corruption purposes. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account that a number of countries, due to their own position or under pressure from the Russian Federation, are not ready to supply Ukraine with military equipment and weapons systems, as well as components for them. In such cases, critically important supplies for us are made through third countries, and the publication of not only the price, but also the very fact of such a supply can lead to the breakdown of the deal, and, as a result, a decrease in the level of defense capability of our country.
The answer to this question is part of the answer to question 1.
The Ukroboronprom concern illegally combines the functions of a state administration body, as well as some of the powers of economic entities subordinate to the concern. In conditions where the state sector is no longer a monopoly supplier of goods and services for the defense sector, Ukroboronprom should be liquidated, with the simultaneous creation of the Defense Industry Development Agency within the structure of central government bodies.
“Legal” trade with the temporarily occupied territories of Crimea and Donbas is corruption at the level of the country’s top political leadership. Illegal trade with these territories is, mainly, corruption at the level of senior leaders of the security forces, in which their subordinates are involved. In this area, there is also corruption at the grassroots level, which is largely generated by the examples of “senior comrades”. Without a complete ban on trade with the occupied territories and the political will of the head of state to strictly stop attempts to violate such a ban, this problem cannot be solved. At the same time, absurd restrictions that prevent citizens of Ukraine who cross the contact line from transporting personal belongings and goods within the limits of personal needs must be lifted. The most affected by this are internally displaced persons who leave the temporarily occupied territories. The current version of the Criminal Code of Ukraine does not provide for liability for such trade. In this regard, criminal prosecution of law enforcement officials occurs only in cases where the receipt of funds is recorded, which is considered to be a bribe. At the same time, in many cases, such trade with temporarily occupied territories is of a sustainable nature, and the “law enforcement officers” are involved not on a one-time basis (for bribes), but are accomplices in specially created criminal enrichment schemes. To solve this problem, firstly, it is necessary to introduce a ban on trade with temporarily occupied territories at the legislative level and, secondly, since the Criminal Code does not take into account the specifics of the period of temporary occupation of part of the territories of Ukraine, to introduce a temporary (until the end of the occupation) procedure for criminal prosecution for violation of the ban on such trade. The punishment for such crimes should include imprisonment. At the same time, the severity of punishment for representatives of all law enforcement agencies and representatives of government bodies should be higher than for citizens not vested with power, and should increase for those who hold a higher official position.
Corruption in the army, associated with defense lands, is expressed not only in the alienation of lands under various schemes, but also in the retention under the control of the army of excess lands, which are used by economic entities on a contractual basis with a corruption component. If we calculate 600,000 hectares of “Soviet heritage” by the actual number of military personnel, then each will have about 3 hectares. Significant taxpayer funds are spent on the protection of these lands alone. The army should have exactly as much land as is necessary to ensure the defense of the country. At the same time, the deployment of military units and, accordingly, land plots should correspond to current and potential threats. All excess lands should be transferred to economic turnover through transparent procedures and under strict public control.
As of July 1, 2018, the Ministry of Defense had a housing waiting list of 48,134 people, of whom 36,787 were in military service and 11,347 were discharged from military service. Of the total number of those on the waiting list: * 44% had served for over 5 years; * 39% had served for over 10 years; * 17% had served for over 20 years. At the same time, these figures do not reflect the true scale of the tasks facing the state. The law of Ukraine stipulates a maximum number of the Armed Forces of Ukraine of 255 thousand people. Taking into account the number of civilian specialists and the gradual refusal of conscription, it is necessary to provide official housing for about 220 thousand servicemen. Yulia Tymoshenko’s military cabinet has developed a special program that solves two interrelated tasks – providing all servicemen with official housing or compensation for its non-provision for the period of service, as well as providing servicemen who have served for 25 years with their own housing. The developed program provides for the phased (over five years) provision of official housing to all servicemen serving in units that have military camps. Those serving in cities will also be provided with official housing or compensation will be paid for the non-provision of such housing. A significant factor for servicemen is the change in the nature of such compensation – it will compensate not for the costs of renting housing, but for the non-provision of a service provided for by law. Thus, the need to provide a lease agreement to receive compensation will disappear. Regular indexation of the amount of such compensation is also envisaged. At the same time, for those who have less than 25 years of service and wish to purchase housing as their own, a special preferential mortgage program is provided, which is an important component of the motivational package of a serviceman. Each of those who are on the housing register will be able to use either their right to be on the waiting list or the preferential mortgage program to obtain housing, if desired. The terms of such a preferential mortgage program are planned to be published by the end of February this year.
