Corruption Reform in the Ukrainian Government, Briefly Explained

Senior officials are resigning as a corruption scandal rocks the Ukrainian government and Kyiv appears eager to assure its Western partners responsible management of billions in military and economic aid. .

Among the famous defectors are Kirilo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Vyacheslav Shapovalov, deputy head of the Ministry of Defense, who was responsible for overseeing supplies and food for the army. There is The deputy attorney general was also dismissed, along with a handful of local governors and several other government ministers.

The actual details of what caused the reforms are a bit vague, and it doesn’t seem like all the resignations and expulsions are related. The Defense Department said the allegations were a deliberate attempt to mislead, but said it would conduct an internal audit. Additional media reports last week questioned officials, including Tymoshenko, who appeared to be enjoying a luxurious lifestyle.

This is the most high-profile mod since the Russian invasion last year. While more details about the alleged corruption are likely to emerge, the Zelenskyi government has received widespread support, particularly from international backers providing tens of billions of dollars in support that Ukraine relies on in its fight. It seems clear that they have moved quickly to quell allegations of corruption against Russia. Some critics have suggested that the reform is a political move rather than a true anti-corruption effort.

In a Tuesday evening speech posted on Telegram, Zelensky confirmed the personnel changes, saying “the internal problems that hamper the state have been and will be cleared.” It is fair, necessary for our defense, and useful for reconciliation with European institutions. ”

Ukraine has previously struggled to root out high levels of corruption and strengthen the rule of law, despite President Zelensky’s promise to do so in the 2019 presidential election. , especially as a condition of Ukraine’s invitation to Western institutions, including someday joining the European Union. Last year’s all-out assault by Russia pushed some of these corruption concerns aside as Western governments rushed to back Ukraine and Ukraine itself became a global symbol of democratic resistance. .

Inside Ukraine, some civil society groups and anti-corruption forces long critical of the Ukrainian government and Zelensky have suspended some of their activities as Ukrainian society is fully mobilized for the war effort. According to a report on war and corruption in Ukraine released last summer, about 84% of anti-corruption experts have given up their work because of the conflict.

Still, concerns about Ukraine’s approach to corruption have never completely disappeared. Conflict chaos—many rapid procurements, influx of funds and goods moving through many hands—tends to be a fertile area for potential corruption and can exacerbate existing problems. This is true no matter where the war is taking place or who is fighting it. Ukraine is no exception.

What we know about the restructuring of the Ukrainian government

The recent personnel changes seem to be linked to several different scandals. Perhaps most notable is this allegation, first reported by the Ukrainian news agency ZN.UA, in which the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense pays him twice to three times his retail price in Kyiv for food. said to have signed the contract. Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov denied the allegations, suggesting it was a “technical mistake” and that the leaks were made in line with a meeting of Western donors to undermine Ukraine.The ministry said in a statement. “Information about the content of food service shoppers who have occupied public spaces is disseminated with intentional manipulation and misleading indications,” it said. The ministry, which also conducts internal audits, said it had launched an investigation into “deliberately disseminating false information”.

Following the alleged procurement, the National Anti-Corruption Service of Ukraine (NABU) publicly announced its own investigation. On Tuesday, Deputy Defense Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov reportedly called for his dismissal “as a result of a campaign of accusations related to the purchase of food services, so as not to threaten the stable supply of the Ukrainian army.”

But the restructuring of the Ukrainian government goes beyond that.Tuesday, Tymoshenko, An aide to President Zelensky, he announced his resignation, saying it was of his own volition. During the war, Tymoshenko played a fairly public role, and Ukrainian media reported last year that he personally used his SUV donated for humanitarian purposes (a report he denied). Another investigation in December suggested that Tymoshenko was driving an expensive sports car and renting a mansion of a prominent businessman, whose home was targeted in an airstrike. He said he is renting a house because of

Deputy Prosecutor General Oleksiy Simonenko was also expelled. He was expelled last month after Ukrainian media reports said he had taken a 10-day vacation in Spain during the war. bottom.

In addition to the ousting of these prominent figures, several other deputy ministers and local governors were also dismissed, including in Kyiv and Kherson provinces. According to the Kyiv Independent, some of these officials were involved in corruption, while others were involved in remodeling.

The turmoil also came after Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Vasyl Rozinsky, said $400,000 ($320,000) was intended to be used to purchase aid, including generators, to help Ukrainians survive the winter. It comes days after he was dismissed following an allegation by Ukrainian prosecutors that he had stolen pounds. The Russian attack has severely damaged the energy infrastructure. He has not commented on the allegations.

Corruption in Ukraine once again in focus

A few dismissals and resignations will not solve Ukraine’s endemic or rule of law problems.Ukrainian resistance to Moscow does not erase all of the underlying weaknesses in governance. The question is just how widespread these recent cases of corruption are, and whether the evictions and resignations now represent a genuine and continued effort to crack down, or whether political reshuffling and Western partners And is it a public show to reassure the Ukrainian people?

Zelensky’s supporters tweeted that the move shows the government won’t change anything “Blindness” to evil. However, some critics have suggested that this was rather a political turmoil, with other politicians accused of corruption remaining in their posts.

In 2021, Transparency International ranked Ukraine 122nd out of 180 countries, making it one of the worst offenders. Even on the eve of the Russian invasion, American and European partners continued to pressure Zelensky to implement anti-corruption and rule of law reforms. When the war began, these calls did not stop, but for good reason, they focused on supporting Ukraine’s resistance to Russia and providing military, humanitarian and economic assistance to Kyiv. rice field.

Even within Ukraine, some of the government’s biggest critics have redirected their energies to a larger war effort, according to a survey of 169 anti-corruption experts. Answered in April 2022. About 47% report feeling at risk if they continue to fight corruption during conflict.

Of course, this is why wars and conflicts deepen corruption. Ukraine is fighting for its survival as a state, so naturally that comes first. All government resources, attention and money will go into mobilizing for it. This means that anti-corruption efforts and rule of law reform have lost their way. Moreover, war creates many opportunities for transplantation, and less time and attention is devoted to accountability and oversight.

The latest allegations come nearly a year into a war in which the West is poised to again send large tranches of weapons to Ukraine, among them now reportedly advanced U.S. tanks. is included. The United States alone has contributed approximately $100 billion to Ukraine, including military, security and economic assistance. As of November, European countries and EU institutions had pledged more than €51 billion in aid to Ukraine, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. As the war drags on, some Western lawmakers are questioning the amount of aid flowing into Ukraine and calling for more accountability for where everything is going. Including the newly inaugurated Republican majority. Kyiv relies on foreign assistance in its fight against Russia, and repeated signs of misuse could put it at risk, so it is not surprising that Kyiv is moving quickly to respond. is not.

And that’s probably one of the big problems. How much of this is for optics, and how much reflects a deeper commitment to these corrupt promises? Depends on what it unfolds and reveals. Yet Ukraine’s efforts to reach out to the world, and a domestic audience that has paid so much for the war, still sound alarm to other officials.