Ukraine has been shaken by a wave of corruption scandals in recent days. Zelensky’s deputy chief of staff, six deputy ministers and five regional governors all left their posts today after a string of controversies left their positions untenable. Some were fired by the President, others left of their own accord – the number may yet grow.
The first scandal broke on Sunday after Vasyl Lozynsky, Ukraine’s deputy minister of infrastructure, was accused of receiving a bribe worth £285,000 to procure generators at an inflated price for the government’s war relief efforts. Then Oleksiy Symonenko, a deputy prosecutor general, was caught holidaying in Spain despite Zelensky’s restriction on fighting-age men leaving the country. The last straw was a report by the Ukrainian journalist Yurii Nikolov that claimed the Ministry of Defence had been purchasing food for servicemen at a cost two to three times higher than that in Kyiv stores.
Today’s flurry of resignations is a good sign and a clear signal that no politician is untouchable
This news has outraged Ukrainians, who have generously donated money, often well beyond their means, to buy
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