10:35 p.m
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
London – AA
An article published by the British newspaper “The Guardian” stated that Ukraine has become a prey to corruption that has spread in it for decades and is still widespread in it until now, to fall between the hammer of corruption and the anvil of the Russian war.
The article, written by journalist Isobel Koshio, added that the spread of corruption in Ukraine has led to the overthrow of a large number of senior officials in the Ukrainian government by presidential decrees since last Saturday at a time when the war is beating its drums with the Russian forces.
The author notes that the Ukrainian president is currently carrying out a massive purge campaign that has resulted in the dismissal of many senior officials and forcing others to resign over the past four days, explaining that since last Saturday 15 Ukrainian officials have left their posts, while six of them are facing accusations of corruption by the Ukrainian authorities.
And the author continues that this campaign began in the wake of the arrest and removal from office of the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Vasyl Luzinsky, on charges of profiteering by selling equipment such as electricity generators, at inflated prices, achieving profits that amounted to more than 400 thousand dollars.
And she adds that that incident prompted the Ukrainian president to announce during his daily speech to the Ukrainian people on Sunday his intention to launch a large-scale campaign to cleanse the country of all the corrupt, calling on the Ukrainian people to wait for more decisions in this regard.
Zelensky pledged in his daily speech that the clock would not turn back and that there would be no tolerance for corruption and corruption, which has spread in the country since independence.
The author points out that the European Union had announced earlier that the Ukrainian authorities must eliminate corruption of all kinds and meet European Union standards in this regard in order to allow it to join the European Alliance.
And she notes that that campaign also included the Deputy Minister of Defense, the Deputy Director of the Presidential Office, and the Vice President of the political party to which Zelensky belongs, in addition to the Deputy Prosecutor General, explaining that that political scandal prompted the Ukrainian National Security Council to issue a decision the day before yesterday, Monday, to ban all Ukrainian officials from traveling abroad. The country until the end of the current war with the Russian forces, except for officials who travel on business missions.
And the author continues that the campaign against corruption in Ukraine continues until yesterday evening, Tuesday, when the authorities announced the exemption of five regional officials, along with three other deputy ministers and heads of government agencies.
At the end of the article, the author sheds light on the comment of the US Ambassador to Kyiv, Bridget Brink, on these events yesterday, the first Monday, when she confirmed that there will be no place in Ukraine for the corrupt and those who use state resources for personal gain.
