Gastronomy amidst chaos: why PR from Klopotenko’s menu doesn’t hide corruption in the procurement of the Armed Forces

When the kitchen reeks of rotten meat, hanging expensive Italian curtains there is a dubious idea. This is exactly how the new "military menu" project by the Defence Procurement Agency and Yevhen Klopotenko looks against the backdrop of loud scandals involving millionaire food supply chiefs and the delivery of inedible products. While soldiers in Vinnytsia wait weeks for basic food supplies, and the DPA prepares to "manage" an additional 12 billion in new contracts, we are offered a beautiful booklet to read. Journalist Tetyana Nikolayenko investigates why PR has once again triumphed over systemic reforms and who is really profiting from the empty stomachs of our defenders.

The Defence Procurement Agency announced the launch of a joint project with chef Yevhen Klopotenko to create a menu for military units. That same evening, I suspect, both the DPA and Klopotenko read a lot of interesting things about themselves, notes the publication Censor.net. From jokes about "bananas with curry" to sarcastic questions like: "Will there be fried mice in batter?"

And, honestly, such a reaction is entirely predictable. Because what the DPA has done resembles an attempt to hang beautiful curtains in a kitchen that reeks of rotten meat.

It’s impossible to create a nice menu if the basic issues of food supply haven’t been resolved.

In recent months, several scandals related to food supply have erupted, confirming that neither corruption issues nor quality control have been addressed.

First, for several weeks, the country watched a scandal unfold around the head of the food supply service of a military unit in Dnipropetrovsk region. According to the investigation, he enriched himself to the point of purchasing a BMW, a Toyota, luxury clothing, and even apartments in Bali—while the soldiers in his unit received rotten vegetables.

Besides the food supply chief, there is another side to this story. It’s called the Busk Canning Factory.

But no one talks about this participant in the scheme. As far as I know, no actions have been taken against them.

And this raises a perfectly logical question.

Because last year, the agency terminated a contract with the company Grandprix, which was involved in a similar story. So, if the DPA takes no action against the Busk Canning Factory now, a very unpleasant question arises: is the agency applying double standards?

Secondly, over the past two months, I’ve received messages from soldiers saying that in Vinnytsia region, they are not receiving some of the products they order.

In private conversations, I found out that due to price competition in the catalog, where companies slashed prices by billions at auctions, some (who didn’t learn how to bribe food supply chiefs) couldn’t deliver at the agreed prices.

This raises two questions at once.

The first—why did the company agree to a contract if it didn’t have the financial capacity to fulfill it?

The second—how did the DPA verify its financial capability when signing the agreement?

The contract was terminated only after two months.

And this happened against the backdrop of another important decision. The DPA announced a new food procurement framework, which is approximately 12 billion hryvnias more expensive than the previous cycle.

Now it will be very interesting to see at what price per daily ration the agency will contract within this framework with companies that are not publicly visible.

One way or another, the DPA has a whole set of problems that remain without systemic solutions.

For example, the issue of quality control for dairy products is still unresolved.

There are also questions about the quality control of canned meat, with companies failing inspections for months while soldiers don’t receive their canned meat.

But instead of solving or at least having an honest conversation about these problems, we get a beautiful booklet with a menu from Klopotenko.

But there’s one problem.

No good dish can be made from meat that weighs ten kilograms on paper but is only five after defrosting.

Just as it’s impossible to create a gastronomic masterpiece from rotten vegetables.

But PR must go on.

And here, one can’t help but recall a story from 2024.

At that time, the head of the DPA, Zhumadilov, got into a conflict with food suppliers. As a result, for a month, military units didn’t receive enough food. Volunteers had to step in again. I haven’t changed my attitude toward the food mafia.

But I’m still shaken by one incident. At that time, a meeting took place at the Ministry of Defence. And, as I’ve been told, one very creative participant in the discussion—possibly Kyrylo Tymoshenko—suggested a rather simple idea: to visit a military unit and take beautiful photos with Klopotenko.