Failures in procurement, international cooperation and governance make the Defense Ministry a weak link in Ukraine’s war against Russia.
The executive director of the Center for Sabotage, Daria Kalenyuk, the director of the New Europe Center, Alena Getmanchuk, and the head of the Victory Drones project (BF Dignitas) Maria Berlinskaya write about this in the Mirror of the Week in the article “The Ministry of Sabotage” by Umerov.”
They argue that chaos in the Ministry of Defense is gradually developing into sabotage and sabotage and is turning Umerov’s department into a “ministry of defeat.”
In addition, the authors believe that the ties of Defense Minister Umerov and his fellow advisers to Turkey are a cause for concern for the United States.
Two long-time friends and business partners of Umerov have the right to distribute tasks on behalf of the Minister of Defense – Snaver Seitkhalilev (since 2021, ex-deputy of Alexei Reznikov as Minister for the Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories) and Lenur Mambetov. Both are registered in the ministry as freelance advisers to the Secretary of State on a voluntary basis, the material says.
Umerov, Mambetov and Seitkhalilev began their careers simultaneously in the 2000s at Astelit, which later became known as Lifecell, a joint venture between Rinat Akhmetov and the Turkish mobile operator Turkcell.
Seitkhalilev and Mambetov do not have formal positions in the Ministry of Defense, and therefore no access to state secrets, which require special examination.
Despite this, advisors are often present at important meetings within the defense establishment and may therefore have access to sensitive information.
If you believe the unofficial databases, which are widely used by investigative journalists to obtain information about Russian citizens, Seitkhalilev and Mambetov have the fastest, this is due to the occupation of Crimea, where the families of Lenur and Snaver lived for some time, as well as doing business. on the peninsula after the occupation, experts say.
The obtained extracts from business registers of the USA, Turkey, Ukraine, Russia and other countries confirm that all three have been reliable business partners in structures related to Turkey’s investments and influence in Ukraine for almost 20 years.
This is a cause for concern for our key ally, the United States, which is especially concerned about the protection of its defense technologies. Despite the fact that Türkiye is a NATO member, relations between Washington and Ankara, especially in the field of defense cooperation, are quite tense, they conclude.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.