Ukraine anti-corruption purge stems from overpriced eggs and cucumbers

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When Ukrainian investigative reporter and anti-corruption activist Yuri Nikolov was told about an overpriced meal contract for the Ministry of Defense, he knew reporting could get him into trouble.

Nikolov would not only break the taboo of criticizing Ukraine’s wartime government. He knew he could also cast a shadow over his struggling country and tarnish the reputation of one of its most prominent figures: Defense Minister Oleksi Reznikov.

Nikolov approached the ministry but was not answered, he told the Financial Times. On the 23rd, he published his findings, showing that the ministry signed a $350 million deal with a catering company, paying highly inflated amounts for food destined for Ukrainian troops.

The story of overpriced eggs and cucumbers set off alarm bells for Ukrainians, who, according to the Central Bank, donated about $500 million of their own money to the army. Many recognized the classic scheme used by officials to line their pockets. The fact that the money was intended to feed its supporters made it all the more scandalous.

The army food scandal erupted as Ukraine begged its Western partners to supply it with tanks and other essential war supplies to fight Russia’s invading forces. The country’s candidacy to become a member state of the European Union will depend on being a respected rule of law and adopting anti-corruption reforms.

It was the first domino in a cascade of reporting that would lead to the resignations and firings of senior government officials, as well as the biggest administration overhaul since the start of the Russian invasion.

In a matter of days, one of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s deputy chiefs of staff, five frontline provincial governors, four deputy ministers, and two members of the president’s Servant of the People party in parliament would resign or be dismissed by cause of accusations or corrupt behavior.

“Corruption is negative in any case, but in our circumstances, in our level of development of our democracy and fighting Russia, the cost is very high, people are dying every day,” said lawmaker Yaroslav Yurchin, first deputy head of the Anti-Corruption Policy Committee.

Ukrainians are focused on defeating Russia, Nikolov said, “but in fact they really don’t like corruption and they also want justice.” Soldiers in the trenches, he added, were among the many readers who wrote to him to thank him for reporting the scheme and blocking it before payment was made.

Reznikov denied any wrongdoing in an inflammatory Facebook post and shifted the blame to his deputy Viatcheslav Chapovalov, who oversaw the takeovers and resigned when the scandal broke.

Ukraine’s top military commander, General Valeri Zaluzhni, has called for a full investigation into the corruption allegations, adding that the military has “zero tolerance for corruption”.

Iurtchin, who sits on a parliamentary committee that discusses anti-corruption policy, told the Financial Times that the reorganization proves ongoing anti-corruption reforms are working. “We created Nabu, an anti-corruption court, with a special anti-corruption prosecutor, and ProZorro” – a digital procurement system to increase transparency and competition, he said.

“It’s fair, it’s necessary for our defense and it helps our rapprochement with the European institutions”, said Zelenski about the reformulation of his government. “We need a strong state, and Ukraine will be just that.”

Leaders in Brussels say Ukraine’s potential membership in the 27-member bloc is conditional on an end to corruption. Ana Pisonero, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, said these leaders were satisfied with Zelenski’s response and “appreciate the fact that the Ukrainian authorities are taking these issues seriously”.

But more progress on reforms is still needed, she added. In particular, the EU wants to see reform of Ukraine’s historically troubled Constitutional Court and judge selection process.

Zelensky came to power in 2019 mainly on a promise to end the conflict with Russia and fight corruption. In Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perceptions Index, published shortly before Russia’s invasion on Feb. since 2018, when it ranked 120th.

Tetiana Shevchuk, an adviser to Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Action Center, says Zelenskiy’s reorganization and crackdown showed he is trying to keep his promise. His measures also include banning public officials from traveling abroad after some of them were caught taking luxury vacations, while civilians aged 16 to 80 are barred from leaving the country.

“Zelensky did this to show allies that he is serious, but he is also about his internal audience,” said Shevchuk, adding that some of the scandals had been known for months.

“There was a lot of tension in the country,” he continues. But civil society feared causing a public outcry over this, lest it inadvertently harm the country, instigate Russian propaganda or present an image of Ukraine as a corrupt place to Western supporters.”

Ukrainian journalists photographed Zelensky’s deputy chief of staff, Kirilo Timochenko, on more than one occasion driving a flashy new $100,000 Porsche Taycan and sports utility vehicle donated by General Motors for humanitarian assistance. But Timochenko only resigned on Tuesday after public outrage and Zelensky’s promise that heads would roll.

Chevchuk says that, until then, anti-corruption activists operated under a “tacit agreement” with the government. “It was this: We don’t criticize them as long as they do the right thing. If they do something wrong, they’ll have time to fix their mistakes.”

But mounting a scheme to steal money from Ukraine’s vital war budget, she added, “crossed a red line”.

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