Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that he fired all regional military recruitment bosses amid reports of corruption.
The dismissed officials will be replaced by soldiers who have been on the front lines or who have been hurt in combat, as “they can be entrusted with this recruitment system,” Zelenskyy said.
“This system should be run by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery in times of war constitutes high treason,” he added, as Ukraine digs in against a Russian offensive in the northeast while also trying to reclaim territory captured by Moscow’s invading forces in the country’s south and east.
The Ukrainian president held a meeting with the National Security and Defense Council to discuss the corruption allegations involving military officials. There are already 112 criminal proceedings open against military recruiting officials, he said
Zelenskyy said many officials across multiple departments and Ukrainian regions were involved in illegal activities, including illegal enrichment. “Some took cash, some took cryptocurrency. That’s the only difference,” he said. “The cynicism is the same everywhere.”
Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s top general Valerii Zaluzhnyi will implement the moves, and the Security Service of Ukraine will vet all candidates.
Ukraine was shaken in January by two major corruption scandals centered on government procurement of military catering services and electrical generators. Rather than sweeping the suspect deals under the carpet, Zelenskyy launched a major crackdown, in a bid to show allies in the U.S. and EU that Ukraine is making a clean break from the past.
In June, Zelenskyy ordered Zaluzhnyi to dismiss the head of Odesa’s recruitment center, after Ukrainska Pravda found he owned real estate worth millions of dollars in Spain. Zelenskyy also ordered the creation of a commission that would work with law enforcement and the National Agency on Corruption Prevention to check all military commissars in Ukraine.
Kyiv’s Western allies have poured billions worth of military support into Ukraine since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion in February 2022.
