Golden eggs: The firings in Ukraine come amid a ballooning corruption scandal involving military purchases.

 

"KYIV, Ukraine — Several top Ukrainian officials were fired on Tuesday, including the governors of several Ukrainian regions, amid a ballooning corruption scandal. The move marked the biggest upheaval in President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government since Russia’s military operation began 11 months ago.

Ukraine’s cabinet ministry, which announced the firings on the Telegram social messaging app, provided no details about the reason, but it followed reports that Ukraine’s military had agreed to pay inflated prices for food meant for Ukrainian troops.

Earlier on Tuesday, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said that Viacheslav Shapovalov, a deputy minister, had “asked to be fired” following the reports. The ministry said in a statement that relieving Mr. Shapovalov of his duties would “preserve the trust” of Ukrainians and the country’s international partners.

While there was no sign that the procurement scandal involved the misappropriation of Western military assistance, the dismissals appeared to reflect Mr. Zelensky’s goal of reassuring Ukraine’s allies — which are sending billions of dollars in military aid — that his government would show zero tolerance for graft as it prepares for a possible new offensive by Moscow.

 

 

In addition to the officials named on Tuesday, Mr. Zelensky’s own deputy, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, tendered his resignation. Mr. Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the presidential office, was well known domestically and internationally, often tasked with providing updates on the military operation.

But Ukrainian journalists had raised questions about his lavish lifestyle and use of government resources.

In particular, he had been criticized for zipping around in an expensive SUV that General Motors had donated for use in humanitarian missions.

Ukraine was struggling to get control over flourishing corruption long before the military operation. But for many Ukrainians the sense of common struggle and unity throughout the military operation makes the idea that top officials might be undermining the country’s collective effort for their own gain particularly galling, especially if the corruption involves the military.

Over the weekend, a Ukrainian newspaper reported that the Ministry of Defense had purchased food at inflated prices, including eggs at three times their cost. Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov called the allegations “absolute nonsense” and the product of “distorted information.”

In its statement on Tuesday, the ministry emphasized that the “voiced accusations are unfounded and baseless,” but called Mr. Shapovalov’s request for dismissal “a worthy act in the traditions of European and democratic politics, a demonstration that the interests of defense are higher than any cabinets or chairs.”

That it took three days for Mr. Shapovalov to step down raises serious questions about the Ministry of Defense’s commitment to rooting out corruption, said Vitaliy Shabunin, the director of operations for the Anti-Corruption Action Center, a Kyiv-based nongovernmental organization.

“A new social contract emerged during the military operation between civil society, journalists and the government: We will not criticize you like we did before the military operation, but your reaction to any scandal and ineffectiveness must be as tough as possible,” Mr. Shabunin said. “The position of the defense minister has broken this agreement.”

The dismissals of several top Ukrainian officials on Tuesday came hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky said that government officials would be prohibited from traveling abroad for vacation or any other unofficial purpose, a move intended to show that corruption would not be allowed to undermine the country’s military operation’s effort.

Mr. Zelensky said in his nightly address that he had signed a decree approving the decision to restrict travel, which was made by the country’s National Security and Defense Council after a deputy minister was dismissed over the weekend over accusations of embezzlement. The president said a border-crossing procedure for officials at all levels of government would be developed within days.

Mr. Zelensky also signaled that there would be a shake-up in his government, saying he had “made personnel decisions” involving ministries, regional governments, law enforcement agencies and other departments.

A senior adviser to Mr. Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, said on Twitter that those moves show that the Ukrainian president “directly responds to a key public demand — justice for all.”

Corruption plagued Ukraine long before Russia launched its full-scale military operation 11 months ago, and rooting out corruption has remained a priority both for Kyiv and its allies. Weapons and aid worth billions of dollars have been flooding into the country from Western allies, and the price tag for reconstruction efforts is estimated to be in the billions of dollars.

Ukraine is also gearing up to fight a possible Russian offensive this spring, and allies are preparing to send Kyiv billions of dollars of additional matériel, including some of their most advanced weaponry.

The European Union has tied Ukraine’s candidate status to overhauls concerning the rule of law, justice and corruption. In addition to expressing worries about the risk of corruption tainting postwar reconstruction efforts, some U.S. officials have voiced concerns that American weapons given to Ukraine could be diverted or stolen for resale."