Thanks to the cooperation of the Ministry of Digital Transformation with anti-corruption authorities, more than UAH 3 billion was saved during the purchase of drones for the needs of the Armed Forces. This was stated by the head of the Ministry of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, UNN reports.
Details
Fedorov explained that immediately after the first contracts for the Army's drones, the Ministry of Digital Transformation built a strict procurement control system and involved NABU and SAPO.
The State Special Communications Service provides detectives with access to a CRM system that contains all drone contracts. They can see the status of all procurements: manufacturers, cost, and all contract details. NABU is free to analyze each procurement
He also noted that this year the state began purchasing drones through the closed Prozorro functionality: thanks to competition, drones are contracted at the most favorable prices.
Also, on the recommendation of NABU, a supply chain was created to determine fair prices for Ukrainian drones. These are separate teams that, together with NABU and journalists, investigate UAV pricing.
We also have an important government decision, which is also a result of NABU's recommendations: if a manufacturer has overstated the cost of drones, it must either supply drones or refund the difference from the real price. This approach has resulted in more than UAH 3.3 billion:
- The Defense Forces additionally received 18,413 drones worth over UAH 1.8 billion;
- The state received almost UAH 1.5 billion back
Recall
Deputy Defense Minister Dmytro Klimenkov said that this year domestic companies provide 70% of the value of contracts for the supply of weapons to the Armed Forces. The Defense Procurement Agency has signed more than 20 contracts with global arms manufacturers from 10 countries.