Military representative offices to be disbanded as the Ministry of Defence completes quality assurance reform by the end of 2025

By 31 December 2025, the transition of the quality assurance system for defense-related products from an outdated Soviet-era model to a modern European one will be completed. Manufacturers will be responsible for product quality, while the state will be responsible solely for quality assurance. The Main Directorate for State Quality Assurance (MD SQA) has been established and is now fully operational. By the end of the year, quality control functions will be fully transferred from the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine’s military representative offices to the Territorial Directorates for State Quality Assurance (TD SQA).

The system of military representative offices of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine was established during the Soviet era and remained essentially unchanged for decades. This system created a distorted accountability model, in which manufacturers failed to take responsibility for product quality and relied on the military representative offices as a “final authority” to identify and rectify shortcomings.

On 31 December 2025, the military representative offices will be disbanded, and quality control functions will be transferred to the newly established Territorial Directorates for State Quality Assurance (TD SQA), of which 11 are currently operational.

Furthermore, the Main Directorate for State Quality Assurance (MD SQA) has also been established, with functions transferred to it from the Main Directorate of Quality Control, rear support units, and the Directorate for Food Safety and Veterinary Medicine. The Main Directorate for State Quality Assurance (MD SQA) serves as the central authority ensuring policy coherence, coordination, methodological oversight, and practical quality control for the full spectrum of defense procurement, ranging from high-tech weapons to clothing, gear, food, and specialized materiel.

The key result of the changes is the rejection of the Soviet-era model of quality control and the complete transition to state quality assurance, with manufacturers assuming responsibility for quality and the state ensuring quality assurance. This approach is used in Poland, France, the United States, and other NATO member states.