The supervisory board of the joint-stock company "Ukrainian Defense Industry" appointed Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk, who previously held the positions of deputy and first deputy minister of defense of Ukraine, as the general director of the company. The new head was selected based on the results of an open competition. During his work in the defense department, Havryliuk found himself at the center of resonant disputes regarding arms procurement.
The appointment was announced on November 3 by the press service of Ukroboronprom.
The search, selection, and preliminary evaluation of candidates was carried out by the Ukrainian representative office of the international company Amrop Partnership. The final decision was made by the supervisory board after the competitive selection and final interviews.
The company noted that Havryliuk has many years of military service, management, and defense sector experience.
Among the main tasks of the new head are the development of Ukroboronprom enterprises, increasing arms production, and continuing the corporate reform of the state defense company.
At the same time, Havryliuk already served as acting general director of Ukroboronprom until the completion of the competition. In particular, in the order of the Cabinet of Ministers dated September 17, 2026, No. 918-r, he is listed as the temporary head of the company.
The previous general director, Herman Smetanin, announced the completion of his work in the position on July 14, 2026. In September, the supervisory board announced an open competition to appoint a permanent head of the company.
Military career of Ivan Havryliuk
Ivan Havryliuk is a lieutenant general, a native of Zhytomyr region. He began military service in 1988. He graduated from the Sumy Higher Artillery Command School, the National Defense Academy, and the National Defense University of Ukraine.
According to the Ministry of Defense, he worked his way up from platoon commander to leadership positions in the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
In 2014-2018, he headed the logistics of the Armed Forces. Later he headed the Main Logistics Directorate and held the position of Deputy Chief of the General Staff.
In 2020, Havryliuk retired from military service due to length of service, after which he worked as an adviser to the commander of the Logistics Forces of the Armed Forces.
After the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, he returned to the military. He worked in the Logistics Forces Command, and later in the structure of the Ministry of Defense.
In October 2023, Havryliuk was appointed deputy to Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, and in May 2024, first deputy minister.
In April 2025, he left the position voluntarily. However, already in July of the same year, he returned to the Ministry of Defense as first deputy minister in Denys Shmyhal's team.
After another round of personnel changes in February 2026, Havryliuk became deputy minister of defense. He finally left this position on May 20, 2026.
In June, Havryliuk was appointed adviser to First Vice Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on issues of the defense-industrial complex on a voluntary basis.
Controversies surrounding ammunition procurement
The most resonant story during Havryliuk's tenure at the Ministry of Defense was related to decisions on ammunition procurement through the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.
In March 2025, People's Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak reported the redirection of significant budget funds that were supposed to be used by the Defense Procurement Agency to arms procurement through the State Border Guard Service.
According to the deputy's assertion, it was about 78 billion UAH, which were planned to be directed to the purchase of ammunition, including through the Polish intermediary company PHU Lechmar Sp. z o.o.
Zheleznyak stated that the relevant decision was promoted precisely by the first deputy minister of defense, Ivan Havryliuk.
As previously reported by "Kurs Ukrainy", the deputy also drew attention to significant volumes of previous procurement through this intermediary and the existence of receivables under contracts.
The essence of the claims was that funds for arms procurement were being redirected from the specialized Defense Procurement Agency to another state customer.
At the same time, the reports about 78 billion UAH concerned budgetary decisions and procurement organization, not proven embezzlement of this amount by Havryliuk. The fact of transfer of the entire specified amount directly to the Polish company is not confirmed by the provided materials.
According to Suspilne, a source in the Ministry of Defense linked Havryliuk's dismissal in April 2025 precisely to disputes over this procurement scheme.
The publication's interlocutor claimed that the initiative caused reputational damage to then-Minister Rustem Umerov, since the Defense Procurement Agency was supposed to handle ammunition procurement.
Conflict with Umerov and allegations of possible corruption
In June 2026, the story of Havryliuk's dismissal got a continuation during a meeting of the parliamentary Temporary Investigative Commission.
As reported by Suspilne, Havryliuk told about a meeting held on April 2, 2025, with the participation of the leadership of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff.
According to Havryliuk, during this meeting, then-Minister Rustem Umerov expressed accusations regarding possible abuses during arms procurement. They, as the general stated, concerned himself and one of the heads of defense structures.
Havryliuk stated that this very situation was one of the main reasons for his decision to leave the post of first deputy minister.
At the same time, it is about Havryliuk's own account of the meeting. The published reports do not confirm that he was formally notified of suspicion or that a corruption offense was established based on these accusations.
A separate cause of tension in the Ministry of Defense was disputes over the management of the Defense Procurement Agency.
As reported by "Babel", after the exacerbation of the conflict over the agency's work at the end of 2024, Havryliuk became increasingly involved in making decisions on defense procurement.
In particular, after the change of leadership of the Defense Procurement Agency at the beginning of 2025, he was assigned additional functions related to the approval of contracts and the allocation of funds for the implementation of contracts.
Havryliuk himself previously explained his intervention in procurement processes by the need to ensure uninterrupted supply of weapons to the Defense Forces.
Thus, Havryliuk's work at the Ministry of Defense was accompanied by serious managerial conflicts and public accusations, but these circumstances must be separated from legally proven violations.
Tasks of the new head of Ukroboronprom
Havryliuk's appointment takes place against the background of a large-scale reorganization of the state defense industry.
Previously, the government announced its intention to transform Ukroboronprom into a modern holding company that should unite the production capabilities of state enterprises, strengthen corporate governance, and expand cooperation with international partners.
Among the priorities remain increasing the production of weapons and military equipment, attracting investments, technological modernization of enterprises, and implementing joint production projects with foreign companies.
In his new status, Havryliuk will be responsible for the operational management of one of the key state associations of Ukraine's defense industry.
In the press service of Ukroboronprom noted that his military service experience and knowledge of the needs of the Defense Forces should help enterprises increase production capabilities.
At the same time, previous disputes over defense procurement make issues of management transparency, control over the use of funds, and efficiency of state enterprises particularly important for evaluating the work of the new head.
Based on materials from: JSC "Ukrainian Defense Industry", Suspilne, "Babel"
