A corruption scandal rocks Ukraine’s government, with top officials stepping aside as Kyiv appears eager to assure western partners of their responsible stewardship of billions in military and economic aid.
The high-profile graduates include Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy chief in the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and a deputy at the Defense Ministry, Vyacheslav Shapovalov, who was responsible for overseeing the supply and rations of the troops. A deputy attorney general was fired, as were a handful of regional governors and some other government ministers.
The actual details of what sparked the reorganization are a bit murky, and not all resignations and layoffs appear to be related, but it comes after at least one report in Ukrainian media that the Defense Ministry had been buying food for troops at extra-high prices. The Department of Defense had said the allegations were a deliberate attempt to mislead, but said it would conduct an internal review. Additional media reports over the past week had questioned officials, including Tymoshenko, who appeared to be enjoying a lavish lifestyle.
This is the most significant restructuring since last year’s Russian invasion. More details about the alleged bribery are likely to emerge, but it seems clear that Zelenskyi’s government has acted swiftly to quash all allegations of widespread corruption, particularly from international backers who have offered tens of billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine provide on which Ukraine depends in its fight against Russia. Some critics have also suggested that the reorganization is more of a political move than a genuine anti-corruption effort.
In his speech published on Telegram on Tuesday evening, Zelenskyy confirmed the personnel transfers and said that all internal problems “that hinder the state will be eliminated and will be eliminated. It’s fair, it’s necessary for our defense and it helps our rapprochement with the European institutions.”
Ukraine has previously struggled to root out corruption at the highest levels and strengthen the rule of law, although Zelenskyi pledged to do so when he was elected in 2019. Ukraine’s supporters in the United States and Europe had long pressured Kyiv to address these issues, particularly as a condition of inviting Ukraine into Western institutions, including perhaps one day joining the European Union. Russia’s full-scale attack last year pushed aside some of these corruption worries as Western governments rushed to back Ukraine and as Ukraine itself became a global symbol of democratic resistance.
Inside Ukraine, some civil society groups and anti-corruption forces that have long been critical of the Ukrainian government and Zelenskyy halted some of their activism as Ukrainian society fully mobilized in the war effort. According to a report on war and corruption in Ukraine released last summer, about 84 percent of anti-corruption experts have suspended their activities because of the conflict.
Still, concerns about Ukraine’s handling of corruption have never entirely dissipated. The chaos of conflict – lots of quick procurements, an influx of funds and supplies going through many hands – tends to be fertile areas for potential transplants and exacerbates existing problems. This is true regardless of where the war is taking place or who is fighting. Ukraine is no exception.
What we know about the Ukrainian government shocks
The recent line-up reshuffle appears to be linked to a few different scandals. Perhaps the most prominent is this claim, first reported by Ukrainian media outlet ZN.UA, that Ukraine’s Defense Ministry signed a contract paying for food two to three times more than retail prices in Kyiv. Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov dismissed the claims, saying it was a “technical error” and suggesting the leak was timed to coincide with a meeting of western donors to undermine Ukraine. “Information about the contents of foodservice shoppers that has taken over the public space is spreading with signs of deliberate manipulation and deception,” the ministry said in a statement. The ministry said it was launching an investigation into “the dissemination of intentionally false information” but was also conducting an internal audit.
In response to the procurement allegations, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has publicly announced its own investigation. On Tuesday, Deputy Defense Minister Viacheslav Shapovalov reportedly asked for his dismissal “so as not to pose a threat to stable supplies to Ukraine’s Armed Forces as a result of a campaign of allegations related to the purchase of food services.”
But the restructuring of the Ukrainian government goes beyond that. On Tuesday Tymoshenko, a close associate of Zelenskyi, announced his resignation, saying it was “at his own request”. Tymoshenko had a fairly high-profile role during the war, and Ukrainian media reported last year that he was driving an SUV donated to humanitarian causes for his personal use (he denied the report). In December, another investigation revealed that Tymoshenko had driven an expensive sports car and rented a villa owned by a prominent businessman – flashy accessories for a wartime government official. Tymoshenko said he rents the house because his own is in an area hit by airstrikes.
Oleksiy Symonenko, a deputy prosecutor general, was also ousted after it was reported in Ukrainian media last month that he had spent a ten-day vacation in Spain during the war. On Monday, Zelenskyy banned all government officials from leaving the country for anything other than official business.
In addition to these high-profile ousters, a number of other deputy ministers and regional governors – including those in Kyiv and Kherson oblasts – were also dismissed. According to the Kyiv Independent, some of these officials are involved in acts of bribery, while others appear to have just been implicated in the reshuffle.
This turmoil also comes days after Ukraine’s Deputy Infrastructure Minister Vasyl Lozinskyi was fired after Ukrainian prosecutors claimed he stole $400,000 (£320,000) intended to buy emergency supplies, including generators, to help the Helping Ukrainians weather the winter after Russian attacks severely damaged energy infrastructure. He has not commented on the allegations.
After a year of war, corruption in Ukraine is again in focus
A few firings and resignations will not fix Ukraine’s endemic corruption or rule of law problems, any more than Ukraine’s opposition to Moscow will not eliminate all of its underlying governance weaknesses. A bigger question is how pervasive these recent instances of corruption are, and whether the impeachments and resignations now represent a real and sustained effort to crack down, or are more of a political restructuring and public show for Western partners and the Ukrainian public to calm down.
A Zelenskyy aide tweeted that the moves show the government won’t roll any “blind eyes” to misdeeds. However, some critics have suggested that this is more of a political shake-up and that other politicians accused of corruption remain in their posts.
In 2021, Transparency International ranked Ukraine 122 out of 180 countries for corruption, making it one of the worst offenders. Even on the eve of the Russian invasion, the United States and European partners had continued to pressure Zelenskyy to implement anti-corruption and rule of law reforms. Those calls didn’t stop when the war started, but the focus, for good reason, was on supporting Ukraine’s resistance to Russia and providing military, humanitarian, and economic assistance to Kyiv.
Inside Ukraine, too, some of the government’s biggest critics are turning their energies to the broader war effort, according to a survey of 169 anti-corruption experts responded in April 2022. Around 47 percent said they felt threatened if they continued to fight corruption during the conflict.
This is of course why war and conflict can deepen corruption. Ukraine is fighting for its existence as a state, which of course has priority. Government resources, attention, and funding all go to mobilizing it, meaning anti-corruption efforts and rule-of-law reforms fall by the wayside. In addition, war creates many opportunities for bribery, with less time and attention to accountability and oversight.
The latest allegations come almost a year after the war began, as the West prepares again to send massive tranches of weapons to Ukraine – now reportedly including advanced US tanks. The US alone has provided about $100 billion to Ukraine, including military, security and economic aid. According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, European countries and EU institutions had pledged aid of over 51 billion euros for Ukraine by November. As the war drags on, some Western lawmakers are questioning the amount of aid flowing into Ukraine — and calling for more accountability over where it’s all going. This includes part of the newly sworn Republican majority in the US House of Representatives. Kyiv relies on foreign support in its fight against Russia, and repeated allegations of abuse could jeopardize that, so it’s not surprising that Kyiv is quick to respond.
And that’s perhaps one of the big questions: how much of that is for optics, and how much does that reflect a deeper commitment to those promises of corruption? The US commended Ukraine for these moves, but much will depend on how the investigation goes and what it uncovers. Still, Ukraine’s efforts to send a signal to the world — and to a domestic audience who have sacrificed much for the war — are a warning to other officials.
Yes I give $120/year
Yes I give $120/year
We accept credit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay. You can also contribute via
