Ukraine Scores 33/100 on Corruption in Annual Report, Near Bottom Third of 180 Countries

Ukraine scored 33 out of 100 on corruption in 2022, which puts the country near the bottom third of 180 countries scored, according to the annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) published this week by non-profit Transparency International.

Out of 180 countries scored, Ukraine was the 116th most corrupt, according to the yearly ranking published on Tuesday.

Ukraine’s score of 33 was one point higher than in 2021, but the same as the year before, 2020.

Last week, just before the index published, nine senior Ukrainian officials reportedly resigned or were fired over allegations of corruption. The resignations and firings also came as Ukraine was pushing the West to send tanks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video statement, “Any internal problems that hinder the state are being cleaned up and will be cleaned up. It is fair, it is necessary for our defense, and it helps our rapprochement with European institutions.”

One of the officials who resigned was deputy head of Zelensky’s office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, over allegations of graft related to military spending.

Tymoshenko, who worked on Zelensky’s media strategy during his presidential campaign, was under investigation in connection with his personal use of luxury cars. He was also linked to the embezzlement of humanitarian aid worth more than $7 million earmarked for the Zaporizhzhia region, according to the Associated Press.

Deputy Defense Minister Viacheslav Shapovalov also reportedly resigned in connection with a scandal involving the purchase of food for Ukraine’s armed forces.

A deputy infrastructure minsiter, Vasyl Lozynsky, was fired for alleged participation in a network embezzling budget funds, and was reportedly detained while receiving a $400,000 bribe for helping to fix contracts for restoring facilities damaged by Russian missile strikes.

There were a total of four deputy ministers and five governors of “front-line” provinces who resigned, according to the AP.

The executive director of Transparency International Ukraine, Andrii Borovyk, told the AP last week, “It’s very hard to save the country when there’s a lot of corruption.”

The index is the non-profit’s 28th annual Corruption Perceptions Index.

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