Omnipresent corruption in Ukraine: Everyone cashing in on war

According to official data, the number of millionaires in Ukraine has grown by 16 percent during two years of hostilities official data. They steal at all levels in Ukraine. Such a country can not win a war by definition.

Photo: flickr.com by Министерство обороны Украины, CC BY-SA 2.0

Golden toilet brushes for schools

Daniil Getmantsev, the head of the Tax Committee of the Ukrainian Parliament, said on Telegram that it goes about hryvnia millionaires — people with an income of more than 1 million Ukrainian hryvnia ($26,000) per year (data obtained from income and property declarations for 2022).

Authors of Ukrainian Telegram channel Black Square conclude that corruption in Ukraine has increased during wartime at all levels.

The channel refers to the procurement of toilet brushes for a school in Krivoy Rog (Kryvyi Rih) at a price of 4,000 hryvnia per piece, when they usually cost 500-600 hryvnia. At least five people were involved in the corruption scheme (supply manager, director, accountant, director and accountant from the counterparty). Surely there are higher officials who had their share too.

One can not make too much on toilet brushes, of course, but repairs of the Kyiv metro is a whole different story.

Kyiv metro should be closed

The head of the Ukraine Transformation Office, Maxim Bakhmatov, said that 30 million hryvnia were allocated to repair leaking metro stations. All that money was simply stolen. According to Bakhmatov, divers were supposed to check and monitor the water situation in underground tunnels once every six months, but no one carried out any actual work.

"Nothing was done, divers would only put their signatures confirming that something was being done, but no. This situation is happening throughout the capital,” Bakhmatov said.

The Kyiv metro should be closed as its further operation is dangerous for its employees and passengers, the official believes.

Former Ukrainian MP Sergei Pashinsky and ex-President Petro Poroshenko stole fuel from the Armed Forces of Ukraine worth 1 billion hryvnia. Former prosecutor in the stolen fuel case David Sakvarelidze said that Poroshenko personally obstructed the investigation and covered up Pashinsky.

Here is another example from the Cherkasy region where local officials boasted of their fundraising activities to purchase a car for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The money was stolen, and it was a Norwegian resident who bought the vehicle.

Soldiers steal from soldiers

They steal inside the Armed Forces of Ukraine as well. Thus, the head of the food department of a military unit and the head of the canteen stole food intended for military personnel and sold it to a local entrepreneur.

From April to September 2023, they "wrote off” more than three tons of products, including meat, sugar, cereals, dairy products, oil, eggs, chocolate, juices, etc.

The Telegram channel introduces the reader to Kyiv City Council deputy Yulia Simunina, who bought a Mercedes-Benz for 1.5 million hryvnia, opened a real estate agency in the UAE, where she also later received a residence permit and rented an apartment for a year for 1.4 million hryvnia. Simunina's son studies at elite CATS College in the UK, where one year costs 1 million hryvnia.

Meanwhile, thieving Ukrainian officials intend to raise the "war” tax by increasing the collection from private entrepreneurs. It is planned to replenish the budget by 44 billion hryvnia at their expense. The corresponding bill is to be submitted for discussion in March. A huge part of this money will be embezzled again.

The question remains: can a country with this level of corruption win a war?