Several Ukrainian officials sacked amid escalating crisis in Europe's most scandalous country
By jdheyes // 2023-01-29
 
Prior to Russia's invasion, Ukraine was known as one of the most, if not the most, corrupt country in all of Europe, a fact that helps explain why Hunter and Joe Biden were 'doing business' there. Apparently, not much has changed as the one-year anniversary of the invasion approaches next month. Reports this week said that a string of Ukrainian officials has either resigned or have been fired by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, mostly likely at the direction of the U.S. regime for the purposes of enticing more NATO allies to pour weapons and money into Kyiv. And not surprisingly, much of the current corruption is tied to military aid. According to Breitbart News: A string of senior Ukraine government officials were sacked or resigned amidst a flurry of corruption claims Tuesday, with those shown the door accused of taking illicit payments as the Ministry of Defence allegedly signed overinflated military contracts. Reports of foul play in Ukraine’s high offices first broke over the weekend, with critics pointing to under the table payments to deputy ministers and suspect military equipment contracts, however only now are details being made public and those accused named. As noted by Agence France Press, those who have been 'let go' or who were told to step down include Deputy Defence Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Kyrylo Tymoshenko and Deputy Prosecutor General Oleksiy Simonenko, among others. In addition, The Guardian reported that the entire list of now-former Ukrainian officials is very long. The report claims that Tymoshenko asked Zelenskyy personally to relieve him of his duties as part of the mass exodus of government officials. The wave of departures comes as a new corruption scandal was breaking: Infrastructure Deputy Vasyl Lozinskyi was fired and then detained for allegedly helping himself to around $400,000 of the winter aid budget, which is huge considering the amount of damage, economically and physically, that has occurred in Ukraine at the hands of the Russians. As Breitbart News previously reported, military weapons in the country have allegedly been sold to international buyers for cash using the encrypted messaging app Telegram, including some weapons supplied by the U.S. and paid for by American taxpayers. Vyacheslav Shapovalov, Ukraine's deputy defense minister, has also stepped down; he was responsible for supply Ukrainian troops with equipment and food. He cited "media accusations" of corruption that both he and the ministry said were unfounded. That said, the ministry posted a message on its website stating that Shapovalov's resignation was "a worthy deed" that would build trust within the defense sector and government. "Deputy prosecutor general Oleksiy Symonenko has been removed from his post, according to the prosecutor general’s office, and two deputy ministers resigned from Ukraine’s Ministry of Communities and Territories Development – Vyacheslav Negoda and Ivan Lukerya," Breitbart News reported. "According to the Guardian, the heads of five regional authorities across the country have also been dismissed, in Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhya, Kyiv, Sumy and Kherson." Last week, Euro News reported that an investigation by a Ukrainian newspaper accused the Ministry of Defense of signing off on contracts to supply food to troops fighting at the front lines for "two to three" times the regular price, leading many to believe that MoD officials were skimming off the top. This war is not going to end without one country -- likely Ukraine -- in ashes. Sources include: Breitbart.com NewsTarget.com TheGuardian.com