Ukraine Accuses Two Former Officials over Army Food Contracts

A girl walks past a heavily damaged residential building as workers dismantle it in the town of Irpin, on April 21, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
A girl walks past a heavily damaged residential building as workers dismantle it in the town of Irpin, on April 21, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
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Ukraine Accuses Two Former Officials over Army Food Contracts

A girl walks past a heavily damaged residential building as workers dismantle it in the town of Irpin, on April 21, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
A girl walks past a heavily damaged residential building as workers dismantle it in the town of Irpin, on April 21, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)

A Ukrainian former deputy defense minister and another ministry official have been served with "notices of suspicion" accusing them of wrongdoing over contracts for food purchases for the army, the state anti-corruption agency said on Friday.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) said in a statement that their actions had resulted in losses to the state of almost 12 million hryvnias ($328,000). It did not name the suspects or say how they had responded to the accusations.

The cases relate to defense ministry tenders in 2020 for the following year's food purchases for the military.

The NABU statement said the tenders had deliberately excluded requirements to transport and replenish supplies in a timely manner.

"As a result, the state incurred almost 12 million hryvnias in losses," it said.

"In addition, the actions of the suspects led to a decrease in the combat readiness and defense capability of Ukraine's Armed Forces and created a potential threat to Ukraine's national security foundations during a special period,"

The cases are not related to media accusations earlier this year that the defense ministry was overspending on food. The ministry denied the accusations.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been trying to get tough on corruption even while Russia is waging war on Ukraine.

The European Union has made addressing corruption a requirement for Ukraine joining the 27-member bloc, a process that usually takes several years.



Iran President Fires Deputy Over Pricey Antarctica Trip

FILED - 10 February 2025, Iran, Tehran: Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian delivers a speech during a rally at Tehran's Azadi (Freedom) Square Photo: Mehdi Bolourian/Iranian Presidency/dpa
FILED - 10 February 2025, Iran, Tehran: Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian delivers a speech during a rally at Tehran's Azadi (Freedom) Square Photo: Mehdi Bolourian/Iranian Presidency/dpa
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Iran President Fires Deputy Over Pricey Antarctica Trip

FILED - 10 February 2025, Iran, Tehran: Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian delivers a speech during a rally at Tehran's Azadi (Freedom) Square Photo: Mehdi Bolourian/Iranian Presidency/dpa
FILED - 10 February 2025, Iran, Tehran: Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian delivers a speech during a rally at Tehran's Azadi (Freedom) Square Photo: Mehdi Bolourian/Iranian Presidency/dpa

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday dismissed his deputy for parliamentary affairs over a costly trip to Antarctica, as the country grapples with hyperinflation amid a biting economic crisis.

A photo shared on social media in recent days showed the now former vice-president, Shahram Dabiri, alongside a woman identified as his wife, posing near the Plancius cruise ship.

The Dutch-flagged vessel has offered luxury expeditions to Antarctica since 2009, with one agency pricing an eight-day trip at 3,885 euros per person, AFP reported.

"In a context where economic pressure on the population remains high... expensive leisure trips by officials, even if paid out of their own pocket, are neither defensible nor justifiable," the Iranian president wrote in a letter published Saturday by the official IRNA news agency, which noted that Dabiri was dismissed.

Dabiri, a 64-year-old physician by profession and a close confidant of Pezeshkian, had been appointed to the post in August.

The government faced strong criticism after the photo was published, and several of Pezeshkian's supporters urged him to remove the official.

IRNA late last month cited a source in Dabiri's office as saying that he had made the trip before he held a governmental position.