Several cases of corruption in the front ranks of the Ukrainian government have recently led to a wave of dismissals and resignations. Four deputy ministers, two senior representatives of a government agency, five regional governors as well as the deputy head of the presidential administration and the deputy attorney general had to vacate their posts.
“The state will not be weak,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said afterwards in one of his speeches. It was an important message – not only towards the Ukrainian people, but also to the Western allies.
Corruption has long been a problem in Ukraine. The country ranked 122nd out of 180 on Transparency International’s corruption index before the start of the Russian war of aggression.
“There are things we need to address. We cannot ignore corruption scandals,” Mark Savchuk, head of the Oversight Committee of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), told the Tagesspiegel. He expressed the assumption that the social taboo of criticizing Zelenskyj’s team had now apparently been lifted.
For example, Deputy Infrastructure Minister Vasyl Lozynsky was arrested for accepting a $400,000 bribe. He is suspected of embezzling budgetary funds earmarked for the purchase of generators for Ukraine, much needed now that Russia is deliberately destroying Ukraine’s infrastructure.
Deputy Defense Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov also resigned after allegedly buying overpriced food for the armed forces. The debate was triggered by a report by the Ukrainian investigative journalist Yuriy Nikolov.
He claimed that the Ministry of Defense bought food for the military at prices two to three times higher than in Kiev retail chains. The President took matters into his own hands, and the responsible authorities were involved in the investigation.
We are just learning to be Europeans.
Yuri NikolovUkrainian journalist
“We are just learning to be Europeans. Where ministers resign for mistakes and thieves go to jail,” the journalist wrote on Facebook. “This is our success story. We want Macron and Scholz to see that we are not stealing aid, but fighting thieves.”
Long list of corruption cases
The list of cases of corruption goes on: in October, the deputy head of the presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, was accused of using an SUV that the US company General Motors had donated to Ukraine.
Deputy Prosecutor General Oleksiy Simonenko was criticized for taking a vacation: He had traveled to Spain even though men of military age are banned from traveling abroad except for professional purposes because of the war.
The governor of the Dnepropetrovsk region, Valentin Resnichenko, also resigned. In November, the media accused him of awarding millions of dollars in road repair contracts to a company co-founded by his fitness trainer girlfriend. He is reportedly under criminal investigation.
Investigations have also been launched against the governors of the Zaporizhia, Sumy and Kherson regions, Ukrainian media write. They were dismissed, as were the governor of Kyiv and other deputy ministers. And Pavlo Galimon, deputy chairman of the presidential party Servant of the People, was fired on corruption charges in connection with the purchase of a property in Kyiv.
Anti-corruption program failed
In early 2023, a government committee failed to pass the state anti-corruption program. But the country’s overall anti-corruption policy is much more important, according to Mark Savchuk. “It’s better to look at the anti-corruption reforms as a whole,” he told the Tagesspiegel.
“One of the most important was the appointment of Oleksandr Klymenko as chief prosecutor of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. As a result, we were able to bring numerous cases to court. Judicial reform is also in full swing with the election of the Supreme Court,” Savchuk said. This body plays an important role because it is responsible for appointing, impeaching, removing and dismissing judges.
The e-Case system, with which the flow of documents in criminal proceedings is to be digitized, is also decisive. It is intended to minimize the administrative burden during the preliminary investigations and also during the court proceedings. “Every big case is a truckload of paper. And I’m not kidding,” says Savchuk.
According to the expert, there are also challenges for NABU. In view of the number of cases, more staff and budget are needed. “Financial audits take a very long time, five to six years. Each case drags on for years, not counting the fact that it ends up in court. There, too, the case is delayed because there is no clear control,” explains Mark Savchuk.
Ukraine benefits from having a popular and charismatic politician like Zelenskyy in power.
Mark Savchuk by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine
For example, the accused party could ignore the proceedings, postpone the hearing or change lawyers. According to the expert, it is necessary to shorten the deadlines to a few years.
The reforms and the image of Ukraine from the perspective of its Western partners have been hotly debated on social media after the corruption scandals erupted. A lot is now expected of Kyiv, not only for domestic development, but also for fulfilling obligations to international partners.
Withdrawal only in the case of “blatant mistakes”
“Ukraine benefits from having a popular and charismatic politician like Zelenskyy in power during the war, who knows how to please the people. But everything has a price,” says Savchuk.
According to him, the problem could be that there is no proper system to select suitable members of the government. “It is still difficult for Zelenskyj to discern who is competent and who is not. He often singles out those who are loyal to him. And only blatant mistakes by people around him lead to resignation.
Of course, there are people who enjoy great trust and respect, such as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Valeriy Zaluzhny, Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov or Finance Minister Sergiy Marchenko. “It gives us hope,” says Savchuk. (with AFP)
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