Sytnyk dismissed from post of Defense Procurement Agency Deputy Director due to staff reduction

Artem Sytnyk was dismissed from the post of the Deputy Director of the Defense Procurement Agency due to staff reduction.

The Anti-Corruption Center has announced this, the Ukrainian News agency reports.

The new Director of the Defense Procurement Agency, Arsen Zhumadilov, dismissed the former head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau from the post of his deputy.

"Sytnyk Artem Serhiiovych was dismissed from the post on 04/10/2025, in connection with the reduction in the number and staff of employees, clause 1, article 40 of the Labor Code of Ukraine (order dated 03/14/2025 No. 159-K)," Zhumadilov noted in response to the request of the Anti-Corruption Center.

According to the Anti-Corruption Center, the aforementioned personnel changes in the Defense Procurement Agency may destroy the internal mutual control system that helped the Agency purchase weapons directly from manufacturers or first-tier suppliers, without the so-called "gaskets".

"The dismissal of Artem Sytnyk is another step by which Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Arsen Zhumadilov ensure convenient and loyal control over the agency from the ministry. That is, they are actually turning an independent agency into a department of the Ministry of Defense, as was the case before the reform to create the Defense Procurement Agency. The purchase of weapons through an independent agency is one of the NATO standards that all developed countries adhere to," the Anti-Corruption Center believes.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, in June 2024, the former director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and former deputy head of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention Artem Sytnyk became the deputy director of the Defense Procurement Agency. Sytnyk previously resigned from the NACP.

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