Ukraine’s agriculture minister was ordered into custody on Saturday as he faces organized crime charges, the latest high-profile corruption investigations against dozens of people now flooding the country’s courts.
Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption High Court ruled that Agriculture Minister Oleksandr Solushky should be detained for 60 days, but he was quickly released after paying bail of 75 million hryvnia ($1.77 million), the statement said.
According to the Associated Press, Solsky illegally acquired land worth 291 million hryvnia ($6.85 million) between 2017 and 2021 and is planning to acquire land worth another 190 million hryvnia ($4.47 million). He is accused of leading an organized crime group.
Ukraine is trying to stamp out corruption, and dragnets over the past two years have seen the country’s defense minister, top prosecutor, intelligence chief and other senior officials lose their jobs.
Military weapons, including US-made equipment, located in Ukraine are allegedly being sold to overseas buyers through the messaging app Telegram. https://t.co/1TiV4gMCKl
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) May 15, 2022
This is perplexing since Ukraine receives tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid from around the world to help fight Russian forces.
Both the European Union and NATO are demanding extensive anti-corruption measures before Kiev can realize its ambitions to join the bloc.
Nine government officials were purged in Ukraine in 2023 as part of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s response to allegations of widespread corruption throughout his administration, Breitbart News reported.
File/Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishna speaks at the public event “Fighting corruption in Ukraine: progress towards EU membership” held in Kyiv. (Eugen Kotenko / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Ukraine’s cabinet has dismissed four deputy ministers and five regional governors after the country was ranked 116th out of 180 countries in the world. Corruption Perceptions Index 2022 By the campaign and research organization Transparency International.
Their dismissal comes after a Canadian NGO warned that Western weapons shipped to Ukraine could not only end up in Russian hands, but could even be sold on the international black market. be.
Canadian NGOs have warned that Western weapons shipped to Ukraine could end up in Russian hands or even be sold on the international black market. https://t.co/l2AAXFUock
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) March 19, 2022
Continued accusations of graft and graft at the highest levels of Kiev’s government led to US President Joe Biden’s approval last week of billions of dollars in additional funding for the embattled country.
The US Senate passed the foreign aid package on Wednesday. Just minutes after the vote, Biden signed the bill “so we can begin sending arms and equipment to Ukraine this week.”
The $6 billion military aid package to Ukraine includes Patriot missiles and other munitions and support systems to counter Russia’s ongoing aggression.
