History of Gigantic Corruption Around Zelensky in Ukraine

"The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has been buffeted this year by a string of allegations of mishandling military contracting and corruption as its budget ballooned. At one point, $986 million worth of weaponry the ministry had contracted for was undelivered by dates specified in contracts, according to government figures. Some deliveries are months late.

Ukrainian investigative journalists have found other woes with military contracting, seeming to show huge overpayments for basic supplies for the army such as eggs, canned beans and winter coats.

Mr. Reznikov had said the ministry was suing to recoup money lost in the weapons contracts. Government officials have said many of the problems had arisen in the early, chaotic days of the war in Ukraine's frantic scramble to buy weapons and ammunition and have since been fixed. Two ministry officials -- a deputy minister and head of procurement -- were arrested over the winter after the reports of overpriced eggs.

With some U.S. critics of the war citing graft as an argument for limiting military aid to Ukraine, the White House national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, last week met with three high-ranking Ukrainian officials to discuss efforts to stamp out wartime corruption.

The contracting scandals prompted some calls for Mr. Reznikov's resignation, but it appears that the change was not anticipated in Washington.

In recent weeks, Mr. Zelensky has stepped up measures against wartime graft, firing all the country's recruitment officers after bribery scandals and proposing a law that would punish corruption as treason under martial law.

In May, the head of Ukraine's Supreme Court was detained in a bribery investigation. And on Friday, Ukrainian media reported that and a court set bail at more than $25,000 for a former deputy minister of economy accused of embezzling humanitarian aid.

In an earlier shake-up last summer, Mr. Zelensky dismissed the director of his domestic intelligence agency and prosecutor general, also in the wake of allegations of corruption and mismanagement." [1]

1. Ukraine Removes Chief of Military As Conflict Drags On: [Foreign Desk]. Kramer, Andrew E.  New York Times, Late Edition (East Coast); New York, N.Y.. 04 Sep 2023: A.1.