The Ministry of Defense imposed fines on suppliers of substandard products for the Armed Forces in the amount of over 6 million UAH

In the first quarter of 2025, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, through its procurement agency DOT, imposed fines on a number of suppliers of food products for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The total amount of fines amounted to over 6 million UAH. This was due to the identified facts of the supply of falsified dairy products that did not meet the established state standards.

This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. According to the report, the identified violations were identified at the stage of checking the supply of food products, which were part of the agreements concluded by DOT to provide food for the military. As noted by the Director of the Department of Procurement Policy of the Ministry of Defense, Hlib Kanevsky, in the first three months of 2025, DOT concluded contracts worth 21.4 billion UAH for the supply of food products for Ukrainian servicemen.

“This is a significant resource, and we cannot allow a single hryvnia to be spent on low-quality products for the Armed Forces,” Kanevsky emphasized.

One of the main tasks of the DOT in 2025 is to strengthen the quality control of supplies. The first to be subjected to a thorough inspection were such categories as peasant butter and fermented milk rennet cheese, since these products are most vulnerable to falsification. According to the results of the inspections, out of 35 samples taken from military units, 19 samples were found to be falsified, as they contained non-dairy fats, which contradicts the requirements of the State Standard of Ukraine for Standardization.

Another 6 samples are currently undergoing laboratory testing. In response to these violations, the DOT is taking a number of measures, including imposing fines on violators, blocking the supply of questionable batches, informing other counterparties, and prohibiting the shipment of products under certain brands.

Halyna Litosh, director of the DOT nutrition program, noted: “We view quality control not as a formality, but as a real tool to influence the safety and trust in the supply system. If a product does not meet standards or contains signs of adulteration, it should not be consumed by the military.”

In the near future, DOT plans to expand inspections to other potentially problematic food categories and conduct re-inspections of those batches that previously did not meet standards. These steps will help improve the quality of food for the military and strengthen trust in the supply system.