Corruption in Ukraine

Written on 12 May 2025.

US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz in an interview published by Fox News misled millions of viewers and subscribers about US support to Ukraine in the past and a minerals development deal expected to be signed by Kyiv in the near future.

The former US special forces operator and Congressman made the inaccurate and misleading comments about Ukraine during an interview with Fox’s Brian Kilmeade.

Corruption in Ukraine

Waltz’s remarks to Kilmeade begin here:

• Waltz said Ukraine is a disastrously corrupt country and the oversight of US resources given to Ukraine is poorly tracked.
• Waltz said: “I will say Ukraine was one of, and is one of, the most corrupt countries in the world. We always have to protect the taxpayers’ dollars. And there have been billions going in. And I don’t think, remember, I don’t think the previous administration had all of the appropriate oversight going in. So we have to keep a hard eye on that.”

The part about Ukraine being one of the world’s most corrupt countries is false.

The part about the US not having sufficient oversight over resources sent to Ukraine is true, but highly misleading.

According to Transparency International’s 2024 Corruptions Perceptions Index, corruption in Ukraine is mid-range on a worldwide standard, at 105th place among 180 countries, along with Serbia, sandwiched between Dominican Republic and Algeria.

In Europe Ukraine was rated less corrupt than Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina and NATO member state Turkey, but more corrupt than Hungary and Bulgaria.

For reference, according to Transparency International, Waltz’s own country, the United States, was rated 28th place in 2024, worse by four spots compared to 24th place in 2023.

An October 2024 US Defense Department Inspector General review of assistance to Ukraine found that about half of recent American support was not always documented to Department of Defense accounting standards. The insufficient record-keeping was not, the review said, necessarily proof of improper use of US resources.

Further, Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials have said, US inspectors are welcome to audit any US resources sent to Ukraine, including visiting the fighting front to see weapons in action against the Russian army, should the American inspectors wish. Zelensky’s most recent declaration that Ukraine’s books are open to US auditors was on Friday, April 25, during an interview with Daily Wire reporter Ben Shapiro.

US protection for minerals agreement

Waltz said that Zelensky and Ukraine had missed a “huge opportunity” to receive US support and protection by failing to sign a rare earths exploitation agreement with the Trump administration.

Opening up Ukraine’s resources to US development would give Ukraine reliable security, Waltz argued.

He said: “Rather than trying to correct the president of the United States, and the vice president, in the Oval Office, when he [Zelensky] was invited there for the first meeting, and could have sat side-by-side with the president, signing a minerals deal that bound our economies together for the foreseeable future. You want to talk about a security guarantee? That would have been phenomenal. I think that was a historic and missed opportunity.”

Trump administration officials led by Waltz have repeatedly stated that the US would not give Ukraine hard security guarantees protecting Ukraine against Russia, similar to NATO Article 5, under any circumstances.

“The US has provided billions to support democracy and rule of law in Ukraine,” says Arthur Estopinan, who worked for over 27 years with senior Congressional Republicans before founding a prominent Washington DC lobbying firm, adding that the assistance was not sent to “to enable the extortion of Ukrainian businessmen,” as he sees now.

Illustrating his point, the American lobbyist says that when it recently became public that he was representing Serhiy Tarasov, a Ukrainian businessman who claims “senior Ukrainian government officials” are persecuting him as part of a plot to steal his agricultural company, I&U Group, “a stream of other Ukrainian businessmen began reaching out to me” recounting similar stories and seeking his assistance to organize meetings with American officials to bring attention to their plights.

As Kyiv Post earlier reported, the case of I&U Group may have broader implications for Ukraine’s future as the company is the recipient of loans from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which means that the assets government-backed raiders are seeking to seize illegally are “the property pledged and mortgaged to EBRD,” according to Ukrainian court filings by the EBRD. A complaint to the European Convention on Human Rights is also being filed. 

On Tuesday, July 22, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine voted to strip the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) of their independence.

The draft law No. 12414, passed on Tuesday, places NABU and SAPO under the Prosecutor General’s Office – effectively within the president’s purview.  

Here is what happened, why this is concerning – and why it might be a silver lining for Ukraine’s anti-corruption reform, despite the concerns. 

Hastily passed bill 

The bill was passed within hours of its appearance. 

In the morning, the bill appeared on the agenda and within two hours, it was already voted on, despite opposition. 

Ukrainian society’s reaction was almost unanimous: The vote was seen as a step backward. 

“The anti-corruption infrastructure in the country has been smashed. You can have different views on NABU, SAPO, [State Bureau of Investigation] DBR, [Bureau of Economic Security] BEB, and others, criticize them – but their work was a huge step forward,” lawmaker Inna Sovsun wrote after the bill was passed. 

There might be risks, and there might be flaws – but these alone should not be enough to demolish an entire agency, she said. 

“There were enough high-profile investigations and important cases. If NABU really had Russian agents, it’s good they were found – sad that it took this long. But that’s no reason to demolish an entire institution. By that logic, we might as well abolish the SBU and the Verkhovna Rada – there are even more Russian moles there,” she added.

Many representatives of civil society say it reminds them of the pre-Euromaidan Yanukovych era– especially considering that fighting corruption and maintaining independent institutions are among the EU’s demands in the Eurointegration process. 

Many fear this process will now slow down.

The “Group of Seven” (G7) Ambassadors for reform in Ukraine have issued a public statement expressing “serious concerns” over the raids on NABU and SAPO that took place on Monday.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a bill that critics say weakens the independence of the country's anti-corruption bodies, sparking protests and drawing international criticism.

Critics say the new law undermines the authority of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (Nabu) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (Sapo) - placing them under the control of the prosecutor general.

In an address on Wednesday, Zelensky said both agencies would still "work", but needed to be cleared of "Russian influence".

After the bill passed, hundreds of people gathered in Kyiv for the biggest anti-government protest since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

BBC.

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