Accusations of widespread bribery have seen Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fire every head of the country’s regional military recruitment centres, as officials were reportedly caught accepting money from men hoping to avoid battle.
In the latest Ukrainian corruption scandal, 112 criminal cases have been opened against military enlistment offices throughout the country, with President Zelensky claiming that there is evidence that “some took cash, some took cryptocurrency” in exchange for helping men avoid being sent to the frontlines.
In response, Zelensky sacked all the territorial heads of recruitment centres and ordered Ukrainian commander-in-chief General Valerii Zaluzhnyi to find replacements, according to The Guardian.
“This system should be run by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery during war is treason,” he said in a video statement. “Instead, soldiers who have experienced the front or who cannot be in the trenches because they have lost their health, lost their limbs, but have preserved their dignity and do not have cynicism, are the ones who can be entrusted with this system of recruitment.”
“The cynicism is the same everywhere,” Zelensky continued. “Illicit enrichment, legalisation of illegally obtained funds, unlawful benefit, illegal transfer of persons liable for military service across the border.”
The Ukrainian president said that every “military commissar” who faces criminal cases will be held accountable. He said that those who are not convicted, they can keep their military honours if they are willing to “prove their worthiness” by going to the frontlines themselves.
It comes just a week after Zelensky slammed the “revolting practices” of those involved in military recruitment after an Odesa-based official was revealed to have somehow obtained $5 million and property in Spain.
Meanwhile, according to Ukrainian news site ZN.ua, the Ministry of Defence has been accused of potential corruption as some 4,900 jackets purchased from Turkey were bought for $421,000 when they only should have cost $142,000.
Corruption is nothing new in the former Soviet state, with Ukraine consistently ranking among the most corrupt nations in the world. Despite this, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have all poured billions into the country since last year’s invasion by Moscow.
Despite growing opposition to continued American involvement in the war, President Joe Biden is currently trying to pass through an additional $24 billion in aid to Ukraine.
House Republicans, who are currently blocking the latest round of funding, have previously alleged potential corruption, including officials engaging in bribery as well as purchasing food supplies for the military at vastly inflated prices.
This week Heritage Action Acting Executive Director Ryan Walker told Breitbart News that before any more American tax dollars are sent to Kyiv, there should be a full accounting of the $113 billion already sent to the country and that the White House should actually lay out a strategy for the war.