Top Ukrainian officials resign in anti-corruption drive

On 23 January, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced personnel changes in ministries, government structures, and the judicial system. The day after the statement, Presidential Office said it had accepted the resignation of Kyrylo Tymoshenko, as its deputy's head. Tymoshenko's dismissal comes days after another Zelenskyy adviser, Oleksiy Arestovych, resigned from his post for spreading misinformation about who was responsible for an airstrike on a residential building that killed 46 civilians including six children in Dnipro on Jan. 14. "The president sees and hears society. And he directly responds to a key public demand – justice for all," Mykhailo Podoliak, a senior Zelenskyy adviser, commented on the changes. Earlier, Ukraine’s deputy infrastructure minister, Vasyl Lozynskyi, was dismissed from his post for allegedly stealing $400,000 allocated for purchasing aid, including generators.

Ukraine deputy minister sacked for alleged theft of USD 400,000

Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov also resigned in the wake of a major procurement scandal. Local media outlet Dzerkalo Tyzhnia published an investigative article claiming the prices for the purchase of food for Ukraine’s Army in the official contract were two to three times above retail prices. In his resignation letter, the deputy defense minister asked to be dismissed in order “not to pose a threat to the stable supply of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.” Deputy Prosecutor General Oleksiy Symonenko, who had spent his 2022 vacation in Spain, also quit. "Officials will no longer be able to travel abroad for vacation or for some other non-governmental purpose," Zelenskyy stated. On 24 January, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine also dismissed six deputy ministers and five heads of regional military administrations.

EU reacts to anti-corruption drive resignations in Ukraine

"Any internal problems that interfere with the state are being cleaned up and will be cleaned up. This is only fair, it is necessary for our protection and it helps our rapprochement with the European institutions," Zelenskyy said. The White House National Security Council welcomed the latest Ukraine's anti-corruption decisions, AP reported. “We welcome the quick action that President Zelenskyy is taking in this case, as well as the effective action of Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions, civil society, and media, to ensure effective monitoring and accountability of public procurement and to hold those in positions of public trust to account.”