Ukraine's Defense Ministry had declared baseless accusations of alleged intentions to block the purchase of BTR-4E armored personnel carriers and pushing the state-owned enterprise Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau (known as Morozov Design Bureau) into bankruptcy.

"The Defense Ministry claims that the allegations are completely unfounded, and the facts spread by a number of news agencies and online publications do not have reliable evidence," the agency said in a statement published on its official website.

The ministry that every year since 2014 they planned funds in the state defense order for the purchase of armored vehicles manufactured by the Kharkiv plant and purchased armored personnel carriers BTR-4E and vehicles based on them. However, the company disrupted the delivery of products, which led to the payment of penalties.

"The last such contract, concluded in 2017 for the supply of BTR-4E armored personnel carriers, was terminated altogether in order to prevent the bankruptcy of the enterprise due to insolvency of the Morozov Design Bureau, which was unable to meet the contract (the products were partially delivered, which led to the failure to fulfill plans to Ukraine's military units with the necessary armored vehicles)," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said Ukroboronprom State Concern and the Morozov Design Bureau do not want the Defense Ministry to collect penalties for failure to comply with the contract to provide armored personnel carriers.

As for allegations of blocking the development of the modernization of the T-64 tank, the Defense Ministry said the decision to start the respective experimental design work was signed back in 2016, but that the design bureau was working with Ukroboronprom enterprises for almost three years.

"The contract for the work with the Morozov Design Bureau was made in 2019, but the company has not yet concluded relevant agreements with subcontractors. This does not allow the ministry to make advance payment," the ministry said

The ministry said it notified top government officials about the predicament on August 15.