YesURY NIKOLOV, a veteran Ukrainian anti-corruption campaigner and journalist, had plenty of scoop in his time. Yet none, he said, mimicking the sound of an explosion, “who exploded like that!” For several days, Ukraine has been plagued by stories of corruption, resignations and dismissals of senior officials. Now the fate of Oleksii Reznikov, the defense minister, is in question. Since he published his explosive article on January 21, Mr Nikolov says, soldiers at the front have sent him messages telling him that while they were fighting Russia, he was facing “the enemy at home”.
Mr Nikolov’s story revealed that the Ministry of Defense signed a contract to buy food for soldiers at grossly inflated prices. The assumption is that the difference between the price to be paid for the eggs and potatoes and the price that was to be charged was to be split between ministry officials and the company contracted to supply the food. (No money changed hands, as the article was published before payment was due.)
The article appeared on the same day that Vasyl Lozynskiy, the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, was arrested for allegedly receiving a $400,000 bribe in a case related to the purchase of generators and electricity. other equipment. He was sacked the next day.
On January 24, Mr. Reznikov’s deputy resigned. But Vitaliy Shabunin, head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center (AntAC), a respected anti-corruption organisation, says “trust in the minister has been lost”, and that it would be “reckless” for President Volodymyr Zelensky leaves him. in his job. “The trust that Ukraine has in its Western allies is our greatest asset, because it…turns into money and weapons,” he adds. Mr Nikolov believes that in recent weeks Mr Zelensky has come under pressure from his Western allies to tackle the corruption problem in Ukraine.
Before the 2014 Maidan revolution, Ukraine was considered one of the most corrupt countries in Europe. Since then, the country has established a series of increasingly effective anti-corruption institutions. Yet the response to the large-scale Russian invasion last February diverted resources from agencies such as the intelligence service of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU).
In the summer, they returned to the fight against corruption. But the war had created a new problem. After the invasion, the government stopped issuing supply contracts for supplies such as food. Officials fear that disclosing the amount of food delivered where could give the Russians valuable information about troop deployments. But the change has given scammers new opportunities to exploit.
Tymofiy Mylovanov, president of the Kyiv School of Economics and a former government minister, says that while recent developments “look bad,” they can also be interpreted positively. Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions are functioning. NABU was already investigating the food contract before Mr. Nikolov’s article, and it didn’t take a scoop to lead to Mr. Lozynskiy’s arrest. Indeed, Mr. Mylovanov points out, during the first Russian attack on Ukraine in 2014, it was partly corruption that “rendered our institutions – the army, the secret services and counter-intelligence – incapable of resist. Eight years later, you have an army that can withstand.
Mr Shabunin of the anti-corruption organization said that after the Russian invasion, the media and civil society groups like his had reached a deal with the government: they would cease their attacks on the government by exchange for an official crackdown on corruption. This week, he says, Oleksandr Kubrakov, the infrastructure minister, stood with the government in swiftly sacking Mr. Lozynskiy, his deputy. Mr. Reznikov, alas, did not act so intelligently. As a result, Mr. Shabunin predicts, more stories will emerge.
As if nothing had happened, January 25 Ukraine Pravda published an article alleging that criminals defrauded the Department of Defense in a case involving body armor paid for but never delivered. The ministry had already tried to recover the lost money. But, the newspaper suggested, the fraudsters could only have gotten so far with insider help.
Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Mr. Reznikov, says the minister’s record stands on its own. He has “zero tolerance for corruption”, the ministry is investigating the public procurement case and Mr. Reznikov’s “primary responsibility is to ensure that Ukraine can defeat the enemy”. ■
