Ukraine's War Against Corruption... 'Concerns Over Western Trust'

NYT·BBC "Loss of Trust Will Impact Support"
Zelensky Replaces About Ten Senior Government Officials

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has launched a war against corruption by replacing senior government officials. This move is interpreted as an effort to maintain Western trust. According to The New York Times and the BBC on the 27th (local time), the Ukrainian government carried out a reshuffle this week, replacing about ten senior officials including governors of five provinces?Kyiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia?as well as the Deputy Minister of Defense, the Deputy Prosecutor General, the Deputy Chief of the Presidential Office, and two Deputy Ministers in charge of regional development. This came amid corruption allegations as President Zelensky strives to restore external trust. The BBC described the situation as "serious in content and poorly timed."

Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, is delivering a speech at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on the 21st. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Recently, reports emerged in Ukraine that Vyacheslav Shapovalov, Deputy Minister of Defense in charge of military logistics, had overpaid for military food supplies. The individual claimed innocence but resigned. Oleksiy Symonenko, Deputy Prosecutor General, was also dismissed after it was revealed that he borrowed a Mercedes-Benz from a Russian oligarch to vacation in Spain. Zelensky’s haste in making these replacements is analyzed as stemming from concerns that Western support might be cut off. Their assistance is indispensable for continuing the war with Russia and post-war reconstruction.

Since declaring independence 31 years ago, Ukraine has been consistently evaluated as having severe corruption in the public and political sectors. According to Transparency International (TI), a corruption watchdog, Ukraine ranked 120th out of 180 countries in the 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). Currently, thanks to President Zelensky’s efforts, Ukraine enjoys considerable trust from the U.S. government as well as from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers. In his inauguration speech in May 2019, Zelensky criticized, "Until now, politicians have made Ukraine a 'land of opportunity' for themselves?an opportunity to bribe, steal, and divert resources," pledging to eradicate corruption.

U.S. and European officials have stated that there is no evidence that aid provided to Ukraine has been stolen. They also evaluate this reshuffle as a demonstration of President Zelensky’s firm stance against corruption. Victoria Nuland, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, said at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Ukraine, "This reshuffle sends a very strong signal to those trying to siphon off money during the war." Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor also noted, "Eradicating corruption during wartime is very difficult," adding, "The corruption allegations and reshuffle of these senior officials show that Ukraine has the capacity for self-purification."