after the arrest on Sunday of Vasyl Lozynskyy, the acting minister for regional development. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine has accused Lozynskyy of receiving $400,000 in “unlawful benefits” for facilitating contracts, including for power generators – a sensitive issue in a country that is struggling to cope with freezing temperatures
Tymoschenko’many more followed his footsteps.Ukraine’s deputy defense minister Viacheslav Shapovalov, deputy prosecutor general Oleksii Symonenko, deputy ministers of regional development Ivan Lukerya and Viacheslav Nehoda and the deputy minister of social policy Vitalii Muzychenko were all asked to resign or have quit as were several regional officials.
Chronic corruption:According to a 2021 report by Transparency International, Ukraine is the second most corrupt country in Europe after Russia. Globally, it ranked 122nd of 180 countries.
Zelensky’s promise to rid the government of corruption was one of the reasons behind his rapid ascent into power in 2019.
Zelensky’s promise to rid the government of corruption was one of the reasons behind his rapid ascent into power in 2019.