The Ministry of Defence kept silent about Polovenko’s dismissal: Cabinet of Ministers confirms data from sources
23 April 2024 18:26
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has dismissed Vitaliy Polovenko from the post of Deputy Minister of Defence. This was announced by the representative of the Cabinet of Ministers in the Verkhovna Rada Taras Melnychuk.
Komersant Ukrayinsky 
reported on 11 April that Vitaliy Polovenko had written a letter of resignation. The ministry refused to comment on this information by phone, but has not yet responded to a written request.
According to the editorial office’s sources, Polovenko resigned because of a conflict with the head of the State Logistics Operator, Arsen Zhumadilov. Misunderstandings between the officials arose amid problems with the supply of food to the Armed Forces, for which Zhumadilov’s institution is responsible. As a reminder, the State Logistics Operator was forced to abandon the Prozorro procurement procedure under the threat of disruption of food supplies to the Armed Forces.
Vitaliy Polovenko was born on 31 January 1983 in Khrystynivka, Cherkasy region. He graduated from the Odesa Institute of Land Forces and the National Defence University of Ukraine. He holds a PhD in Military Science.
He has been serving in the Armed Forces since 15 July 2000. He was engaged in logistics support at the Aviation Training Centre of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Defence University. on 1 December 2023, he was appointed by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to the position of Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine, apparently to deal with supply issues in the Armed Forces.
Kommersant Ukrainskyi also wrote that the Armed Forces of Ukraine warned the Ministry of Defence about the prerequisites for disrupting the army’s food supply from 1 April.
State operator of logistics and food in the Armed Forces
In December 2023, the Ministry of Defence introduced a new structure that became responsible for supplying the Armed Forces of Ukraine – the State Logistics Operator (SLO). Previously, procurement and control of the procurement process and quality were concentrated in one of the MoD departments.
The new operator, headed by Arsen Zhumadilov, now performs all functions related to the provision of military products, including market analysis, price research, cooperation with manufacturers and decision-making on tender purchases. The state finances the DOT’s activities on a percentage basis. The operator receives a percentage of the amount of contracts concluded.
From the very beginning of its operation, the operator faced the threat of disruption of food supplies to the Armed Forces. Thus, the operator twice announced tenders through the Prozorro system, but cancelled them. At the time, the DOT claimed that the suppliers were “deliberately disrupting the bidding”. The suppliers, on the other hand, won a lawsuit against the DOT, in which they proved the existence of defamatory requirements in the tender documentation developed by the operator.
As a result, on 15 March, the State Logistics Operator signed contracts for the supply of food to the Armed Forces of Ukraine without using the Prozorro system. At that time, five suppliers were involved (Buskyi Cannery, Yug Prod Torg, Food Grand, Tviy Khlib, and Cherkasy Meat Processing Plant (ChMK). Subsequently, DOT has already cancelled some of these contracts and signed new ones with other suppliers.
