Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies uncover drone procurement graft scheme
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies said they had uncovered a major graft scheme involving inflated military procurement contracts, just two days after Ukraine's parliament voted to restore the agencies' independence.
In a joint statement published Saturday on social media, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) said the suspects had taken bribes in a scheme that used state funds to buy drones and other military equipment at inflated prices.
'The essence of the scheme was to conclude state contracts with supplier companies at deliberately inflated prices,' the statement said, adding that offenders had received kickbacks of up to 30 per cent of the contracts' value.
The anti-corruption bodies did not identify the detainees, but said a Ukrainian lawmaker, local district and city officials, and National Guard servicemen were involved. Four people have been arrested so far, they said. The Interior Ministry said the National Guard personnel implicated in the case were removed from their positions.
Drones have become a crucial asset in modern warfare for both Ukraine and Russia, enhancing military reconnaissance, precision strikes, and strategic flexibility on the battlefield. The majority of Russian military assets destroyed by Ukrainian forces, including manpower and heavy weaponry, have been targeted by drones. Drone production is also a key aspect of Kyiv's hopes to expand domestic military production and export markets.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the development in his nightly address on Saturday, calling the graft scheme 'absolutely immoral' and thanking the anti-corruption agencies for their work.
'Unfortunately, these corruption schemes involved the procurement of electronic warfare systems and FPV drones ... There must be full and fair accountability for this,' he said in his address, posted to X.
In an earlier post, which also included photos of him meeting with the agency heads, Zelenskyy said it is 'important that anti-corruption institutions operate independently,' adding that 'the law passed on Thursday guarantees them all the tools necessary for a real fight against corruption.'
The exposure of the graft scheme by NABU and SAPO came just two days after Ukraine's parliament voted to restore their independence.
Ukraine's Parliament on Thursday overwhelmingly approved the bill presented by Zelenskyy, reversing his earlier contentious move that curbed their power and sparked a backlash, including street protests, a rarity in wartime.
Last week's measure to place the watchdogs under the oversight of the prosecutor-general prompted rebukes from Ukrainians, the European Union and international rights groups. It raised fears that the government could meddle in investigations and potentially shield its supporters from scrutiny.
Fighting entrenched corruption is crucial for Ukraine's aspirations to join the European Union and maintain access to billions of dollars of vital Western aid in the all-out war, now in its fourth year. It's also an effort that enjoys broad public support.
Morton reported from London.
Elise Morton And Samya Kullab, The Associated Press
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
9 hours ago
- CTV News
Ukrainian drone attack sets Russian oil depot on fire as Zelenskyy announces prisoner exchange
Long-range drones An-196 Liutyi of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine stand in line before takeoff in undisclosed location, Ukraine, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File) An overnight Ukrainian drone attack on an oil depot near Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi sparked a major fire, Russian officials said Sunday, as the two countries traded strikes and the Ukrainian president announced a prisoner exchange. More than 120 firefighters attempted to extinguish the blaze, which was caused by debris from a downed drone striking a fuel tank, Krasnodar regional Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev said on Telegram. Videos on social media appeared to show huge pillars of smoke billowing above the oil depot. Russia's civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, temporarily stopped flights at Sochi's airport. Farther north, authorities in the Voronezh region reported that four people were wounded in another Ukrainian drone strike. Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 93 Ukrainian drones over Russia and the Black Sea overnight into Sunday. Meanwhile, in southern Ukraine, a Russian missile strike hit a residential area in the city of Mykolaiv, according to the State Emergency Services, wounding seven people. The Ukrainian air force said Sunday Russia launched 76 drones and seven missiles against Ukraine. It said 60 drones and one missile were intercepted, but 16 others and six missiles hit targets across eight locations. The reciprocal attacks came at the end of one of the deadliest weeks in Ukraine in recent months, after a Russian drone and missile attack on Thursday killed 31 people, including five children, and wounded over 150. The continued attacks come after U.S. President Donald Trump last week gave Russian President Vladimir Putin a shorter deadline -- Aug. 8 -- for peace efforts to make progress. Trump has threatened to impose new economic sanctions on Russia if progress is not made, while expressing doubt about how effective they would be. 'You know, they're wily characters, and they're pretty good at avoiding sanctions, so we'll see what happens,' Trump said Sunday evening of the Russians. He said his special envoy Steve Witkoff may travel to Russia on Wednesday or Thursday, the final days before his new deadline. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Ukraine and Russia have agreed to exchange 1,200 prisoners following their latest round of negotiations in Istanbul in July. 'There is an agreement to exchange 1,200 people,' he wrote on X, saying that the lists of individuals to be swapped were being worked on and that they were working to 'unblock the return of our civilians.' There was no immediate comment from Russia. Zelenskyy also said he discussed with top Ukrainian officials 'the negotiation track -- specifically, the implementation of the agreements reached during the meetings with the Russian side in Istanbul, as well as preparations for a new meeting.' Each of the three rounds of talks between the countries this year has resulted in prisoner exchanges but yielded no breakthrough in reaching a ceasefire.
CTV News
15 hours ago
- CTV News
OPEC+ countries to boost oil production by 547,000 barrels per day
FILE -The logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is seen outside of OPEC's headquarters in Vienna, Austria, March 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Lisa Leutner, File) NEW YORK — A group of countries that are part of the OPEC+ alliance of oil-exporting countries has agreed to boost oil production, a move some believe could lower oil and gasoline prices, citing a steady global economic outlook and low oil inventories. The group met virtually on Sunday and announced that eight of its member countries would increase oil production by 547,000 barrels per day in September. The countries boosting output, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman, had been participating in voluntary production cuts, initially made in November 2023, which were scheduled to be phased out by September 2026. The announcement means the voluntary production cuts will end ahead of schedule. The move follows an OPEC+ decision in July to boost production by 548,000 barrels per day in August. OPEC said the production adjustments may be paused or reversed as market conditions evolve. When production increases, oil and gasoline prices may fall. But Brent crude oil, which is considered a global benchmark, has been trading near $70 per barrel, which could be due to a potential loss of Russian oil on the market and a large rise in crude inventories in China, according to research firm Clearview Energy Partners. 'President Trump has not obviously relented from his threat to sanction Russian energy if the Kremlin does not reach a peace deal with Ukraine as of August 7, potentially via 'secondary tariffs' on buyers,' Clearview Energy Partners said in an analyst note Sunday. The eight countries will meet again on Sept. 7, OPEC said in a news release. Cathy Bussewitz, The Associated Press
Globe and Mail
19 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Firefighters extinguish Sochi oil tank blazes caused by Ukrainian drone attack, authorities say
A Ukrainian drone attack caused two oil tanks to catch fire at an oil depot in Sochi in southern Russia, but the blazes were later extinguished, local authorities said on Sunday. Veniamin Kondratyev, the governor of the surrounding Krasnodar region, said more than 120 firefighters were deployed. The Russian defence ministry said its air defence units destroyed 93 Ukrainian drones overnight, including one over the Krasnodar region and 60 over the waters of the Black Sea. The ministry reports only how many drones its units destroy, not how many Ukraine launched. Rosaviatsia, Russia's civil aviation authority, briefly halted flights at Sochi's airport before resuming them. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine, which has staged frequent attacks on infrastructure inside Russia that Kyiv deems key to Moscow's war efforts. A woman was killed in the Adler district of Sochi in a Ukrainian drone attack late last month, but attacks on the city, which hosted the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, have been infrequent in the war that Russia launched in February 2022. The Krasnodar region is home to the Ilsky refinery near the city of Krasnodar, among the largest in southern Russia and a frequent target of Ukraine's drone attacks. Also on Sunday, the governor of Voronezh region in southern Russia said four people were injured in a Ukrainian drone strike that caused several fires, while Russia launched a missile attack on Kyiv, according to the military administration of the Ukrainian capital. The Russian defence ministry said that its units destroyed 18 Ukrainian drones over the Voronezh region that borders Ukraine.
