Defense Minister Yuri Yekhanurov signed orders cancelling Valery Konovalyuk's titles of retired captain, major and lieutenant colonel after the lawmaker said Ukrainian weaponry had been illegally supplied to Georgia during the August Caucasus conflict.
The minister said the titles had been removed as they were granted illegally, but Konovalyuk has said the move was aimed at discrediting him in his role as head of the parliamentary investigation committee on arms to Georgia.
Konovalyuk, a member of the opposition Party of Regions, told the agency: "I will stand up for my military honor, believe me. I will sue Yuri Yekhanurov." He also called the minister's decision "immoral."
The Party of Regions said in a statement it has demanded that the minister, an appointee of pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko, rescind his order to cancel the lawmaker's military titles.
Konovolyuk earlier said the commission has evidence that President Yushchenko authorized illegal arms supplies to Georgia during and since the August war between Georgia and Russia.
He has said that both national and international laws were broken during deliveries of weapons to Georgia. Weapons were sold to Georgia after the country attacked South Ossetia on the night of August 7, and continue to be sold, but practically no money has been transferred to Ukraine's budget, he said. The Ukrainian leadership has rejected the commission's findings.
