Ukraine: Major Scheme Uncovered for Corruption in Purchasing Military Drones

Two anti-corruption agencies in Ukraine announced today, Saturday, that they have uncovered a major scheme for corruption in the purchase of military drones and signal jamming systems at inflated prices, just two days after the agencies returned to independent operation following massive protests.

The parliament restored the independence of the anti-corruption investigation and prosecution agencies "NABU" and "SAPU" on Thursday after a decision to withdraw their independence led to the largest protests in the country since the Russian invasion in 2022.

In a statement published by the agencies on social media, they stated that a member of parliament and two local officials, along with an undisclosed number of national guard members, had received bribes. The statement did not name any of the accused.

The statement clarified that "the essence of the scheme was to enter into government contracts with supply companies at deliberately inflated prices," adding that the perpetrators received bribes of up to 30% of the contract cost. The statement mentioned that four individuals were arrested.

President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram: "There can be no tolerance for corruption. Collective action is clearly underway to expose corruption, which will lead to a fair judicial ruling" in this case.

In a rare political move, Zelensky, who holds extensive presidential powers in wartime and still enjoys broad support among Ukrainians, had to retract his decision after his attempt to bring the agencies under the authority of the prosecutor general led to the first protests across the country since the war began.

Zelensky said he listened to the people's anger and introduced a bill that restored the agencies' previous independence, which was voted on by parliament on Thursday.