Ukraine - January 2023

A journalistic investigation revealed the Ukrainian military was paying inflated prices for food, breaking what the Financial Times called 'a taboo on criticising the government during wartime'. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded by firing and forcing the resignation of several high-ranking civil servants, governors, state ministers, and members of parliament involved or suspected of involvement in this and other corruption or embezzlement schemes. Ukrainian prosecutors and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau launched numerous investigations. International and domestic observers say Ukraine has made significant anti-corruption reforms in recent years, but that the scandals show that much work remains to be done.

Note: Russia’s war on Ukraine directly implicates the Russian government in nearly all aspects of Ukrainian life and the performance of its political and democratic institutions. Any decline in Ukraine’s democratic attributes associated with the reported events does not necessarily, and in many cases, in no way indicates responsibility of the Ukrainian government or its people.

Sources: Financial Times, Kyiv Independent, Euractiv