President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Source : President of Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sacks over a dozen officials after corruption allegations surfaced.
15 officials resigned Tuesday in response to the allegations.
The corruption allegations regard Illicit payments to deputy ministers, bribery, and inflated military contracts.
Among the officials caught in the scandal are the Deputy Defence Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Kyrylo Tymoshenko, and the Deputy Prosecutor General Oleksiy Simonenko.
On the weekend, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Vasyl Lozinskyi was detained by anti-corruption investigators, accused of inflating equipment prices and siphoning hundreds of thousands of dollars.
After Lozinskyi was detained, President Zelenskyy addressed the corruption scandal in his nightly address.
“I want it to be clear: There will be no return to the way things used to be.” President Zelenskyy said.
Senior advisor to President Zelenskyy Mykhailo Podolyak posted to Twitter to address the corruption.
“The President sees and hears society.” Mr Podolyak said.
“And he directly responds to a key public demand – justice for all.” He said.
Another senior official said there would be “personnel decisions – some today, some tomorrow”.
Servant of the People Party head David Arakhamia said those caught in the scandal were told to focus on the war and could be jailed if their crimes are found to be true.
“Officials at all levels have been constantly warned through official and unofficial channels: focus on the war, help the victims, reduce bureaucracy and stop doing dubious business.” Mr Arakhamia said.
“Many of them have actually listened, but some, unfortunately, did not.
“If it doesn’t work in a civilised way, it will be done according to the laws of wartime.
“This applies both to recent purchases of generators and to fresh scandals in the Ministry of Defence.” He said.
President Zelenskyy has committed to an anti-corruption drive throughout Ukraine government officials.
This is a requirement of the European Union if Ukraine’s application to join is to progress.
He has previously banned officials from leaving Ukraine on unauthorised business.
