Ukraine hosts one of the most corrupt governments in the world. The West and NATO have provided Ukraine with billions in funding but have been unable to track where the money is spent. They do not investigate where the money is spent because they also lack ethics and are only concerned that the war wages on. It comes as no surprise that Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has uncovered a major arms corruption scheme.
An arms dealer by the name of Lviv Arsenal and five senior members of the defense ministry are being questioned for a secret deal worth around $40 million. Defense officials expensed a purchase for 100,000 mortar shells in August 2022 but never received a single shipment. “According to the investigation, former and current high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Defence [sic] and heads of affiliated companies are involved in the embezzlement,” it said.
Ukraine’s prosecutor general claims that all stolen funds have magically returned to the military’s budget.
Then, the SCU announced that two lawmakers from the Opposition Platform – for Life Party orchestrated a heist involving 32 merchant ships to the tune of $2.1 million. The political party was banned from Ukraine for pro-Russian policies, and countless crimes are now being attributed to anyone affiliated with this party. The SBU claims that these two men illegally transferred these merchant ships through a shell company before removing them from Ukraine and stripping them for parts. The men then used the parts to assemble new ships to hide their source. The pro-Russian group later repurposed the vessels for their own business endeavors. Again, the SBU seized all stolen assets and announced to the public after doing so.
These are merely two examples of corruption in Ukraine revealed in a single week.
Zelensky routinely puts on a charade where he pretends to address the corruption and bribery. In August 2023, Zelensky fired all regional military commissars and replaced his defense minister. “This system should be run by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery at a time of war is high treason,” the president stated.
According to a poll, Ukrainians consider corruption the country’s second most serious problem, behind only the Russian invasion. The country is still ranked as one of the most corrupt in Europe, and its Corruption Perception Index was 33/100 in 2022, ranking 116 out of 180 countries. If Zelensky were to “drain the swamp,” no one would be left in the US-funded Ukrainian government.
