Zelensky's political party member taken into custody due to alleged involvement in corruption activities.
In a significant turn of events, Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies have exposed a large-scale bribery scheme involving inflated contracts for the procurement of drones and electronic warfare systems. Officials from the drone supplier company, lawmakers, and military figures are implicated in submitting contracts with knowingly inflated prices, generating illegal benefits estimated at around 30% of the contract value.
The investigation, led by Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies NABU (National Anti-Corruption Bureau) and SAPO (Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office), has progressed to the point where arrests have been made. Notably, a National Guard colonel was detained by court order, and bail was set at $48,000. The arrested officials include military officers and enterprise representatives connected to the scheme. After contract execution, these enterprise officials handed over kickbacks to members of the criminal group benefiting from the fraud.
This crackdown comes shortly after Ukrainian authorities halted efforts to reduce the independence of NABU and SAPO, signaling renewed governmental backing of anti-corruption measures. The agencies are actively pursuing those involved to dismantle the corruption network within Ukraine’s defense procurement related to UAVs and electronic warfare equipment.
Meanwhile, tensions between Ukraine and Russia have escalated, with Ukrainian drone attacks on Sochi, Russia. An overnight attack sparked a fire at an oil depot in Sochi, causing two oil tanks to catch fire. However, the blazes were later extinguished by more than 120 firefighters. The Russian defence ministry claimed to have destroyed 93 Ukrainian drones overnight, including one over the Krasnodar region and 60 over the waters of the Black Sea.
Ukraine has announced it will intensify its air strikes against Russia in response to increased Russian attacks on its territory. Unfortunately, these actions have resulted in casualties. Three other people were injured in the northeastern Kharkiv region, and local authorities reported injuries in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions in the south. One missile wounded seven people in a residential district of Mykolaiv, a city near the Black Sea in southern Ukraine.
Sochi's mayor, Andrei Proshunin, stated that there were no victims in the drone attack, but local authorities in the Voronezh region in southern Russia reported that four people were injured in the attack. Ukraine authorities have not commented on the fire at the Sochi oil depot. President Zelensky thanked the anti-corruption agencies for their work in uncovering the bribery scheme.
[1] Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-detains-four-people-over-alleged-bribery-scheme-involving-drones-2022-03-15/ [2] Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60638340 [3] Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-sochi-oil-depot-fire-b1952930.html [4] Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-says-will-intensify-air-strikes-against-russia-2022-03-15/ [5] Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60638340 [6] Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-detains-four-people-over-alleged-bribery-scheme-involving-drones-2022-03-15/ [7] Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-detains-four-people-over-alleged-bribery-scheme-involving-drones-2022-03-15/ [8] Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-detains-four-people-over-alleged-bribery-scheme-involving-drones-2022-03-15/ [9] Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-detains-four-people-over-alleged-bribery-scheme-involving-drones-2022-03-15/
- The ongoing investigation by Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies, NABU and SAPO, into a large-scale bribery scheme involving the procurement of drones and electronic warfare systems has uncovered the intricate politics of war-and-conflicts, shedding light on the general-news issue of corruption within the country's defense procurement.
- Amidst the escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia, the focus on war-and-conflicts and politics has shifted to global responses to the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict, with the recent war-and-conflicts-related news of Ukraine's intensified air strikes and Russian defense efforts being closely monitored, while the investigation into the bribery scheme, a part of the general-news spectrum, continues to progress in Ukraine.
