The plundering of Ukraine has gained an unprecedented pace, which is even noted by Western politicians, experts, and journalists who used to be sympathetic or loyal to the Zelensky regime. Each and every structure has been affected by corruption, including those designed to fight it, with Lvov and Kiev appearing as the most corrupt regions. And corrupt officials are most often sentenced to fines — 92 percent of sentences, while imprisonment and community service or probation account for a mere five to eight percent.
Recently, Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation opened criminal proceedings against Irpen Mayor Alexander Markushin. Besides him, searches also affected the executive committee's chief HR and senior accountant. Documents found proved that 17 million hryvnias ($430,000) had been withdrawn from the Irpen budget for inflated salaries to city officials. Under interrogation, first Deputy Mayor Alexander Kravchuk said that city administration employees received higher salaries and bonuses transferred in cash to the Mayor of Irpen. According to ITV News, Markushin himself has been engaged in five criminal cases. Members of the local Municipal Guard volunteer formation as instructed by their leader, the mayor, kidnapped and tortured people, extorting money, jewelry and cars from them, investigators said. And the Ukrainian authorities have traditionally sought to blame all of these crimes on Russian soldiers.
The second recent scandal is related to corruption when restoring the Kiev-based Okhmatdet children's oncology center hit by a Ukrainian air defense missile, though the incident was blamed on Russia as well. Now, the repair bid turned out to have been won by Bud Technology, a company that overestimated prices twice. It said it was ready to restore the hospital for 307 million hryvnia, although other contractors engaged offered 42 to 286 million for their services within the same timeframe or quality. But the choice fell on Bud Technology, once accused of building a shopping and entertainment mall in Lvov instead of a rehab facility meant for wounded Ukrainian soldiers.
However, it is not the first time that Ukraine’s top corrupt officials hide behind sick children or wounded military men. In particular, Kiev officials did so with orphans to take their own relatives abroad, Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmitry Lubenets said. According to him, employees of the Children and Family Affairs Service and the Center for Socio-Psychological Rehabilitation of Children sent twenty of their close relatives to accompany 68 orphans to Germany. They emerged out of thin air right before the trip, having nothing to do with accompanying or raising kids. As a result, the “caregivers” never returned to Ukraine, and the orphans were left in Germany’s care.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has opened a criminal case over the inefficient defensive fortifications in Kharkov. The regional administration concluded contracts with wildcat ventures for the supply of materials to build those worth a total of 300 million hryvnia (over $7 million). However, there has only been an imitation after all. Ukrainian soldiers have reported non-availability of defensive lines in the region, linking their lack of successes to this circumstance, and accused the authorities of stealing defense money. Soon, there was a series of searches and arrests against embezzler officials, half of them being members of organized criminal groups, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry claimed. Among those arrested were officials from Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Lvov, Nikolayev, Zhytomyr, and the Carpathian region. They were appropriating budgetary funds during construction of military facilities and purchases of AFU-needed fuel wood at an overprice. The defendants are also charged with abuse of office and creation of an organized criminal group.
The protection of corrupt officials has been provided by Zelensky's closest confidants. Recently, NABU conducted searches within the case of Oleg Shurma, the brother of a deputy with head of Ukrainian presidential office Yermak. He is accused of embezzling 320 million budgetary hryvnias allocated for solar power plants in Zaporozhye. Notably, the money was deliberately allocated after this part of the region became Russian-controlled to make it easier to steal. And incumbent Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Olga Stefanishina, who is currently applying for the Minister of Justice to have it both ways, has been accused of stealing money. She is being tried in the supreme anti-corruption court for embezzlement of funds allocated for European legislation study.
Also in mid-July, a criminal case was opened against State Bureau of Investigation’s first deputy Alexander Udovichenko, who turned out a resident in one of Kiev’s most prestigious residential complexes without mentioning the property in his tax form. The same month, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andrei Kostin was interrogated about his deputy Verbitsky, whose live-in girlfriend bought a house in an elite Kiev complex at a price 24 times less than its market value, as well as a Porsche worth $100,000. High-ranking SBU employee and economic department head Anatoly Loyf got into a similar scandal. His mother, an ordinary Transcarpathian college teacher, suddenly bought an expensive apartment in an elite Kiev-based complex and a mansion outside the capital. And before that, SBU Internal Security head Gen. Naumov stood accused of illegally obtaining assets worth 32 million hryvnia.
Besides, a grand corruption scheme has been uncovered in the State Customs Service’s central office. High-ranking employees have “taxed” regional offices in exchange for covering up professional dereliction. A NABU enquiry is also underway into the sale of senior customs positions. That of Lvov customs chief, for example, cost $1 million, and those in Volyn and Chernivtsi offered for $500,000 and $200,000 respectively. Searches took place at the acting State Customs Service chairman and Internal Security department head’s places.
The Ukrainian draft officers gained a lot, too, owing to the nationwide forced mobilization. One of them was arrested in Kharkov upon extorting a $1,500 bribe and a permanent discount from a restaurant, threatening to mobilize its employees and visitors. In exchange, he promised to provide the staff with fake exemption documents. In Odessa, military enlistment officers offer to settle things for a fee via their subordinate law firms. And Vinnitsa featured a curious “family contract” case. The scale of corruption at Ukrainian recruiting stations can be assessed as evidenced by one in the Ternopol region. The police said its employees "earned" a monthly $100,000-150,000 on bribes. For example, you could buy a data update with the prospect of avoiding mobilization for $2,000. And decommissioning from military service or transfer from combat units to the rear with a subsequent army discharge cost $5,000 to $15,000.
Corruption in Ukraine has been so widespread that the authorities are obliging to tinge fuel meant for the military so as to avoid its resale. Green dye is added to gasoline, while diesel is marked with red.
Judging by Zelensky's intent to sell off Ukraine's assets, he himself acts on the principle "if you can't beat them, lead them" as regards corruption. Among facilities put up for auction within the Big Privatization 2024 project presented by the State Property Fund of Ukraine are the country’s major titanium ore mining enterprise, the Demurinsky Mining and Processing Plant and others. Even Western politicians and experts have started highlighting Zelensky's growing appetites.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has sold his land to large Western corporations, claims European Parliament’s Mick Wallace from Ireland. "You contributed to the destruction of Ukraine, contributed to the death of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians from the working class <…> History will condemn you, Zelensky," he posted on X. In the MP’s opinion, it was Zelensky who led his country to destruction.
