Multiple military and political officials in Ukraine, reportedly including a lawmaker from President Zelensky’s party, have been accused of corruption schemes to steal money intended for the war effort and bribery.
Just weeks after thousands took to the streets of Kyiv to protest against the loosening of anti-corruption standards, forcing the Zelensky government to backtrack immediately, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said that four people have been arrested on suspicion of corruption.
According to a report from Ukrainska Pravda, this included Member of Parliament Oleksii Kuznetsov of Zelensky’s Servant of the People party. The news outlet went on to claim that the other officials included former Luhansk governor Serhii Haidai, head of Luhansk Oblast’s Rubizhne district Andrii Yurchenko, and an official from Ukraine’s National Guard.
In a statement, the NABU said that the officials established a scheme to fraudulently overcharge on defence spending, including on electronic warfare systems and on military drones, by upwards of 30 per cent.
“After the contract was executed, the company’s officials handed over their ‘kickback’ to the members of the criminal group,” the agency said.
Commenting on the arrests, President Zelensky wrote on Telegram: “I am grateful to the anti-corruption bodies for their work. There can only be zero tolerance for corruption, clear teamwork to expose corruption, and ultimately a fair sentence.
The arrests come shortly after controversy over an attempt by the government to remove independence from the nation’s anti-corruption agencies.
Following mass protests in Kyiv last month and pressure from the European Union, which requires anti-corruption standards for countries seeking to join the bloc, like Ukraine, Zelensky quickly signed legislation to overturn the controversial law.
The former Soviet satellite state has long struggled with corruption issues. Last year, Transparency International gave Ukraine a score of 35 out of 100 in its annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), ranking 105th in the world, and only trailing Russia and Belarus in Europe.
In 2023, a report from the New York Times claimed that corruption had been elevated to “the highest level of Ukrainian politics” after funds for military contracts had “vanished” in the early days following the Russian invasion.
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