Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has hinted he may fire several ministers after a flurry of corruption scandals as speculation grows of a cabinet reshuffle.
Zelensky, who on Sunday fired a deputy minister who was accused of accepting a bribe, used his latest nightly address to promise “justice” at home rather than talk about the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.Credit:Washington Post
“I want this to be a signal to anyone whose actions or behaviour violate the principle of justice,” he said of the dismissal of Vassily Lozinsky, the deputy minister for development of communities, territories and infrastructure.
“This week will be the time of appropriate decisions. Already prepared.
“What concerns energy and procurement. What concerns the relations between the central government and the regions. The thing about procurement for the military.”
He did not go into details but seemed to be referring to an investigation into the Defence Ministry in Kyiv, which is accused of buying rations for soldiers at inflated prices.
Officers from Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested Lozinsky on corruption charges on Saturday. The agency said he was caught red-handed accepting a $US400,000 ($570,000) bribe for arranging procurement, at inflated prices, of generators to provide electricity during blackouts.
His arrest came as a Ukrainian news website accused the Defence Ministry of complicity in a scheme to defraud taxpayers by artificially inflating food procurement prices. Zerkalo Nedeli published a procurement contract that it said showed the military was paying two to three times the regular retail price for foodstuffs in several regions.
David Arakhamia, head of Zelensky’s Servant of the People party, said it had been made clear since Russia’s invasion that officials should “focus on the war, help victims, cut bureaucracy and stop dubious business”, Reuters reported.
“Many of them got the message. But many of them did not unfortunately. We’re definitely going to be jailing actively this spring. If the humane approach doesn’t work, we’ll do it in line with martial law,” he said.
The Telegraph, London
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