Oleh Uruskiy, Ukraine’s controversial deputy prime minister and minister for strategic industries, has been spotted walking next to notorious Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who is extremely loyal to the Kremlin.
A photo of the two walking side by side through a crowded hall at the IDEX-2021 arms exhibition in the United Arab Emirates was posted on Facebook by Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Feb. 22.
“I expect an immediate explanations from Oleh Uruskiy,” Shmyyal wrote in his post.
The Emirates News Agency reported that both Uruskiy and Kadyrov would be guests at IDEX-2021, one of the world’s biggest arms fairs, which attracts scores of top industry players.
An hour after Shmyhal posted, Uruskiy replied that the “placement of delegation heads during the opening ceremony procession is defined by the host nation’s protocol.”
“The practice was to arrange the reigning family’s personal guests in alphabetical order,” the minister wrote in a Facebook post of his own. “Personally, I had no contact (and no intentions to have any contact) with the Russian delegation’s head, who is Ramzan Kadyrov, during or after the ceremony.”
He added that the Ukrainian delegation let the hosts know that this situation would be considered “unacceptable” in the future.
The minister also wrote that he “doesn’t think it’s possible to shrink away from representatives of the aggressor nation or any other country, thus showing a lack of confidence and Ukraine’s weakness.”
Kadyrov, who is the sole ruler of semi-independent Chechnya and enjoys enormous financial support from Moscow, has gained extreme notoriety for imposing a highly authoritarian, semi-Islamist regime in the once-breakaway republic, as well as for widespread human rights violations.
Kadyrov claims absolute loyalty to President Vladimir Putin of Russia and has repeatedly called himself “Putin’s infantryman” ready to die for his Kremlin master.
Minister Uruskiy wants UkrOboronProm ‘to go extinct as legal entity’
The latest incident follows a long trail of scandals involving Uruskiy, who has led the Ministry for Strategic Industries since its inception in late July.
The new ministry was supposed to make policy for the military, aircraft and aerospace industries.
Numerous anti-graft watchdogs accused Uruskiy of gaining highly-centralized, non-transparent control of the country’s greatest state-run strategic enterprises, such as the legendary aircraft manufacturer Antonov or Dnipro-based spacecraft plants and design bureaus.
Uruskiy’s activities led to a conflict with the top management team of UkrOboronProm, Ukraine’s state-run defense production giant, which accused the official of derailing the corporation’s reform.
UkrOboronProm accuses Strategic Industries Ministry of reform sabotage
The ministry was criticized for being just another bureaucratic monster assuming the ultimate say over the country’s military acquisition and appointment of top managers of defense enterprises. Watchdogs said this creates numerous risks of conflict of interest.
They also accused Uruskiy of failing to approve the statutory instruments needed for the country’s new military acquisition legislation to enter into force, ensuring more transparent government contracting.
In January, Uruskiy’s deputy Vitaliy Nemylostiviy, believed to have business interests in defense acquisition, was fired following a drunk driving incident and a quarrel with traffic police officers.
In a Dec. 30 interview with the Kyiv Post, Uruskiy rejected all accusations and insisted he has no intention to grab control over the country’s top industries. He also vowed to approve all necessary documents by mid-February, which has not been effectively completed.
Despite Uruskiy’s explanation of the Kadyrov incident, industry analysts believe it’s a telling sign of the minister’s incompetence and attitude towards Russia.
“After more than six months in office, Deputy Prime Minister Uruskiy has failed all of his key tasks,” said Hlib Kanievskyi, the head of StateWatch defense watchdog. He believes Uruskiy still has his job because the Presidential Office doesn’t want to hurt its own popularity by firing him early.
“How do they explain to society why such an incompetent candidate was approved as deputy prime minister for defense production in a country at war?” Kanievskyi added.
The expert believes that what happened in UAE will leave President Volodymyr Zelensky no choice but to sack Uruskiy and his whole team.
