Ukrainian Defense Minister summoned to Parliament over procurement scandal involving faulty mines
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov has been summoned to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine amid a scandal involving defense procurement, specifically related to substandard mines for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. A total of 153 members of parliament voted in favor of the motion, according to Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a Ukrainian MP from the "Holos" party, on Telegram.
"This is a procedural decision! Umerov must come to Parliament and report. What's going on with the mines? What's happening with the 23 billion that they want to allocate without a clear purpose," stated Oleksiy Goncharenko, another MP from the "European Solidarity" faction.
Earlier, media outlets released a video showing a soldier discussing the issues with the mines. Reports indicated that the problem affected various front lines and involved thousands of mines. Subsequently, it became known that the Ministry of Defense ordered the retrieval of all defective Ukrainian-produced mine rounds from the front lines, which either failed to reach the targets or did not explode at all. According to ZN.UA, at least 100,000 mines are being recalled—enough to last six months with conservative use.
Complaints about the mines began surfacing in early November, but it was not until November 21 that the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense finally convened a major meeting on the issue with representatives from the President's Office.