Ukraine is not ruling out the possibility of adding representatives from the western military industrial complex establishment and international anti-corruption organizations to the supervisory board of the state-owned Ukroboronprom Concern.

"The situation involving the reshuffling of Ukroboronprom's supervisory board mirrors a wide array of internal and external contradictions of the reform of the defense sector initiated by Kyiv with the support of western allies and seems 'unstable,'" a source in the military industrial complex told the Kyiv-based Interfax-Ukraine news agency on Wednesday.

"Until recently, among candidates to head the concern's supervisory board was a person representing an international anti-corruption organization, which showed interest in accelerating anti-corruption reforms in the defense sector. That organization is said to be focused today on reviewing cooperation plans with the state concern, although one should not rule out the possibility of anti-corruption figures being included in Ukroboronprom's supervisory board, taking into account the long-term goal of anti-corruption reform plans," the source told Interfax-Ukraine, adding that the decision could be taken after consultations with Ukraine's western allies.

At the start of 2017, ex-Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) from 2001 to 2009 Anthony Tether was mentioned as a possible candidate to join Ukroboronprom's supervisory board.

Based on a presidential decree issued in 2010, some 130 military industrial enterprises, including the state-owned Ukrspecexport company and its subsidiaries, comprise the Ukroboronprom Concern today.

In keeping with Ukroboronprom's bylaws, its supervisory board is the highest governing body. It consists of five members who are elected for five years. Three of them shall be appointed by the president, another two by the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.

The list of Ukroboronprom's current supervisory board members has not been made public. In November 2016, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko removed Ukrainian Member of Parliament and head of parliament's defense and security committee Serhiy Pashynsky from the board. Pashynsky said at the time he wanted to be removed to avoid speculation about a "conflict of interest."

According to open sources, from 2014 to the present time, Ukroboronprom's supervisory board includes head of the State Service for Financial Monitoring of Ukraine Ihor Cherkasky, as well as the ex-commander-in-chief of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Yaroslav Skalko. Early in 2017, deputy head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Economic Development and Trade Yuriy Brovchenko and deputy head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry for armament Ihor Pavlovsky were named among candidates from the Cabinet.

On December 26, the Independent Anti-corruption Committee, formed by Transparency International, issued a statement on the termination of cooperation with Ukroboronprom in connection with the failure of the authorities to agree on the creation of an independent supervisory board of the state concern, which is considered as the basis for the effective implementation of the reform of the state concern and the military industrial sector. The reform was unveiled in 2016.

Plans were announced in December 2017 by Ukroboronprom to finish reviewing its strategy for reforming Ukraine's military industrial complex in stages, including an audit in 2020.