Several Ukrainian officials have already resigned amid a corruption scandal that has rocked the country and prompted a reshuffle of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government team.
A highranking adviser, four deputy ministers and five regional governors left their posts this Tuesday (January 24).
Her departure comes as Ukraine launches a broad anticorruption campaign.
Recently, authorities have faced allegations of bribery and overpriced grocery shopping and one official in particular has been accused of pursuing wartime luxuries.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelenskyi, said the president was responding to a “fundamental public demand” that justice should apply to all.
Zelenskyy has already banned state officials from leaving the country except for approved business trips.
First to resign on Tuesday was Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the president’s deputy chief of staff, who oversaw regional policy and had previously worked on Zelenskyi’s campaign.
After Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February last year, Tymoshenko became a frequent government spokesman. He has been accused by Ukrainian investigative journalists of using several expensive sports cars during the war although he denies any wrongdoing.
In a Telegram post, he thanked Zelenskyy for the “opportunity to do good deeds every day and every minute.”
Deputy Defense Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov also resigned after allegations he oversaw the purchase of overpriced military groceries from a relatively unknown company. The department classified it as a “technical error” and said no funds had been diverted.
Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov himself is in the spotlight for the same reason.
The list of those fired also includes Oleskiy Symonenko, Deputy Prosecutor General; Ivan Lukeryu, Deputy Minister for Municipal and Territorial Development; Vyacheslav Negoda, Deputy Minister for Municipal and Territory Development; Vitaliy Muzychenk, Deputy Minister for Social Policy; and the regional governors of Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporizhia, Kyiv, Sumy and Kherson.
problem history
Ukraine has a history of corruption, and in 2021 Transparency International ranked the country 122 out of 180 nations in its Corrupt States Ranking.
Fighting corruption is one of the main demands of the European Union (EU) and the country must meet this if it is to move forward with its application for membership.
In a speech on Sunday, Zelenskyy vowed he would “not return to what used to be how many people close to state institutions” used to live.
The statement followed the arrest of Ukraine’s Deputy Infrastructure Minister Vasyl Lozinskyi on Saturday on suspicion of accepting more than $350,000 in bribes to buy power generators. He rejected the allegations.
David Arakhamia, leader of Zelenskyi’s Servant of the People party, said corrupt officials could face prison terms.
“Officials at all levels have been constantly warned through official and unofficial channels: focus on the war, help the victims, reduce bureaucracy and stop doing shady deals. Many of them listened, but unfortunately some didn’t,” he said. him in a statement published on Telegram.
“If it doesn’t work in a civilized manner, it will be done under martial law. That applies both to the recent purchases of generators and to the new scandals in the Department of Defense.”
While there have been anticorruption reforms in recent years, the stakes are high for Kyiv, which receives billions in financial aid from Western allies.
This text was published at https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional64388534