The State Logistics Operator of the Ministry of Defense concluded 12 contracts for the supply of food to the Armed Forces of Ukraine for 2026 at the end of 2025 with a total value of UAH 15.07 billion. Despite the announced reform and change in procurement approaches, the new agreements again raised serious questions about transparency, competition, and the quality of products for the military.
As noted by NashiGroshi investigators, the DOT headed by Arsen Zhumadilov has for the first time switched to long-term contracts with a term of 9 to 12 months. However, the key problem has remained unchanged - purchases are made according to the so-called catalog of 340 items, which experts consider to be corruption-prone.
The mechanism of abuse looks classic: suppliers overstate prices for popular and mass-consumed products and at the same time understate the cost of exotic or little-used items that the military practically does not order. This allows them to formally reduce the total cost of the offer across the entire catalog and win the tender, compensating for the “cheap” items with excess profits on basic products.
Another systemic problem is the absence of large national retailers in the procurement. According to investigators, large chains avoid participation due to high risks: the likelihood of criminal prosecution, pressure from tax authorities, and the influence of the so-called "old mafia", which has controlled the army food market for years.
Although the State Food and Drug Administration has formally introduced price restrictions for certain items, experts warn that this does not solve the problem in essence. Old suppliers who have retained access to tenders are compensating for losses by reducing the quality of their products. Eggs for 17 hryvnias, as they were three years ago, are no longer available, but there are still supplies of low-quality or counterfeit products at the price of first-class ones.
These concerns are confirmed by the results of the Audit Chamber audit for 2024. The audit showed that more than half of the servicemen are not satisfied with their food. In the first nine months of 2025, every fifth batch of canned food sampled did not meet quality requirements, 45% of cheese samples turned out to be counterfeit, and 42% of semi-smoked and raw-smoked sausages did not meet safety standards.
Formally, Arsen Zhumadilov's agency assessed suppliers with fines totaling UAH 125.54 million. However, the effectiveness of this mechanism remains extremely low. Companies voluntarily paid only UAH 20.10 million, while about 84% of the assessed fines actually “froze” and were not collected.
As a result, despite the name change and declared reforms, the food system for the Armed Forces of Ukraine continues to operate according to the old rules: with a closed circle of suppliers, price manipulation, and chronic quality problems, for which the military ultimately pays.
