Winter clothing for the Armed Forces worth UAH 1.3 billion: procurement by the Ministry of Defense

In July and August, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine actively concluded contracts for the supply of winter military clothing for a total of UAH 1.28 billion.

According to the Nashi Hroshi portal, which cites data from the Prozorro system, the volume of contracts covers uniforms for about 235,000 soldiers. However, some tenders had to be canceled due to the rejection of all bids from participants.

In particular, pants were purchased at a price of 2,046 to 2,598 hryvnias per piece (56 to 71 dollars at the current exchange rate of the National Bank), as well as jackets worth 2,823 to 3,274 hryvnias (77 to 90 dollars at the current exchange rate of the National Bank).

It is noteworthy that ten Ukrainian companies were awarded contracts to supply these garments, including some that were already suppliers to the Ministry of Defense.

One of the companies, Nika-Text Plus LLC, has significantly increased its tender success. The company, owned by Bohdana Sydorenko from Odesa, received an order worth 222 million hryvnias, while before that it had won tenders worth less than 10 million hryvnias.

It is important to note that among the customers were names that already had ties to Ukraine's defense sector. The former director of the Mega-Press Publishing House, Yuriy Hanzha, Oleh Svirko, and Maria Gadach were known for their work in this segment.

Oleh Svirko used to head the tender committee of the Ministry of Defense, while Maria Gadach worked in the Procurement Department of the Ministry of Defense. Earlier this year, Oleh Svirko was elected to the Public Anti-Corruption Council at the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, which operates under the Sororitas NGO.