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Inflated military contracts, bribery and shopping trips are among allegations linked to the Ukrainian president as his government tries to clampdown on graft.

A businessman from Lviv was detained for allegedly attempting to bribe an official of the State Bureau of Investigation with $500,000, the Bureau announced on Dec. 30.

Oleksii Reznikov led the defense ministry for 522 days, during the country’s toughest time. Following the latest allegations of corruption, this time concerning the procurement of winter attire for soldiers, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Sept. 3 his decision to dismiss Reznikov. On Sept. 5, the parliament approved Reznikov’s resignation with 327 votes, well over the necessary minimum of 225.

Some Ukrainian businessmen were attempting to sell a batch of tank engines to the Armed Forces of Ukraine at an artificially inflated price. Source: Security Service of Ukraine Details: The Ukrainian dealers planned to sell 80 tank engines to the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine at a price of over UAH 77 million [approximately US$2 million], when the market value of these engines is just under UAH 24 million [about US$650,000].

Welcome to Investigative Stories from Ukraine, the Kyiv Independent's newsletter that walks you through the most prominent investigations of the past week. If you are fond of in-depth journalism that exposes war crimes, corruption and abuse of power across state organizations in Ukraine and beyond, subscribe to our investigative newsletter. A Turkish company that sold $20 million worth of jackets to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, was co-founded by a 24-year-old nephew of a member of the ...

Ukrainian Ministry of Defence faces criticism after price of gear triples en route to country

Journalists and activists have found evidence that winter jackets for military personnel can be bought in Türkiye for much less than the Ministry of Defence purchased from the Turkish company Vector avia, one of whose owners is Oleksandr Kasai, the nephew of Hennadii Kasai, a member of the Servant of the People party.

Yevhen Hrushovets, Head of the Public Anti-Corruption Council at the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, has admitted that the purchase of jackets for the Armed Forces was accompanied by "minor flaws", but insisted that the deal to purchase winter jackets was carried out in accordance with all necessary procedures.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry is in the throes of another procurement scandal, as 233,000 winter jackets were bought from Turkey for $20 million, only to see the price surge during transport to Ukraine.

Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, former director of the Procurement Department of Ukraine's Ministry of Defence, had a power of attorney from the minister enabling him to enter into ministry contracts single-handedly.