Afrasianet - A few days ago, the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the dismissal of General Eduard Moskalev from the post of commander of the so-called "Joint Forces Operation".
Zelensky's office published a decree on its website dismissing Moskalev, without disclosing its reasons. It is worth noting that Moskalev was appointed commander of the Ukrainian Joint Forces operation in March of last year.
At the end of last month, Zelensky dismissed a number of heads of military departments in the Ukrainian provinces from their posts, due to their association with corruption cases.
Ukraine's corruption scandal raises Washington's concerns about supporting Kiev Corruption as Ukraine's allies talk about it. The New York Times reports on corruption scandals in Ukraine, and states that they raise long-standing concerns in the United States about aid to Kiev.
The New York Times reported that the US administration feared that humanitarian aid to Ukraine would be more at risk of embezzlement or theft, after the corruption scandal in Kiev.
The newspaper quoted a senior US State Department official as saying that the ouster of several Ukrainian officials this week on corruption charges "sends a very strong signal."
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, US officials "watched with some anxiety the flow of billions of dollars into the country, and they are well aware of Kiev's history of political corruption and fear the embezzlement of aid for personal gain," according to the newspaper.
She noted that the ouster of several senior officials in the Ukrainian government, following accusations of government corruption, has led to an urgent nature of these concerns.
Although American and European officials say there is no evidence of aid theft to Ukraine, the very suspicions of fraud would threaten political support for continued wartime aid and postwar reconstruction efforts.
In information that was not published as usual, the Europeans also know that their money and weapons go in another way. The money goes to the accounts and pockets of the influential slaves of the president, and the weapons see their way to sale before the soldiers receive them.
Therefore, European pressures on Zelensky that it is necessary to eradicate corruption have forced the dismissal of many first-class officials, who are corrupt, of course.
Despite this ultimatum, US officials have insisted that the drama shows that President Volodymyr Zelensky is committed to fighting corruption," the newspaper notes. US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland testified during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Ukraine. "We've been very clear that we need to see anti-corruption steps going forward," she said.
According to the newspaper, Nuland was responding to a question from Senator Jeff Merkley, who said he was "concerned" that corruption in the Ukrainian government could be "a kind of cancer eating away at the support they need from everyone in the world." In 2021, Ukraine ranked 122nd on the Corruption Index, which ranks 180 countries.
And in 2015, when Biden was vice president, he appealed to the Verkhovna Rada to root out “the pervasive poison of nepotism, corruption and kleptocracy.” Even before the Ukrainian government's dismissals this week, some prominent Republicans had expressed concern about possible misuse of US aid, according to the newspaper.
Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an appearance on "Fox News" in November that "America must ensure that resources do not go to support a corrupt Ukrainian government."
The New York Times also noted other Republicans' growing skepticism about Ukraine aid, as their leaders in Congress say they will place more emphasis on oversight and accountability.
A few days ago, a spokesman for the US Department of Defense, Patrick Ryder, confirmed that Zelensky's actions regarding the dismissal of a number of Ukrainian officials due to their association with corruption charges are an internal matter.
Earlier, Ukrainian media revealed the resignation of a group of senior Ukrainian officials, following a corruption scandal, after it was revealed that they had purchased supplies for the army at inflated prices.
It is noteworthy that the Ukrainian government dismissed Vasyl Lozinkich, Deputy Minister of Municipal Development, on suspicion of taking bribes, and the Ministry of Defense announced the opening of an investigation into accusations of exaggerated contracts for food products intended for the military. Among the sacked officials were five regional governors, four deputy ministers and a senior official in the presidential office who was seen as close to Zelensky.
A large number of senior Ukrainian officials were sacked today, Tuesday (January 24, 2023), in a change that Kiev said showed President Volodymyr Zelensky's harmony with society after corruption accusations.
The dismissals of about a dozen officials came as Russia's invasion entered its twelfth month, days after the arrest of a deputy minister suspected of participating in graft, allegations denied by the Defense Ministry and sparked outrage.
Deputy Defense Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov resigned after a Ukrainian media report accused the Defense Ministry of paying inflated prices for food supplies, an old ploy used by corrupt officials to embezzle funds.
The ministry said the allegations were baseless but that the resignation of Shapovalov, who was responsible for the army's food supply, was a "noble act" that would help maintain confidence in the ministry.
The governors of the Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporizhia, Kiev, Sumy, and Kherson regions were among the dismissed officials. The President's Office said that it had accepted Kirillo Tymoshenko's resignation as its deputy director. Tymoshenko gave no reason for his resignation.
The 33-year-old worked on Zelensky's election campaign and has been deputy director of the president's office since 2019, overseeing Ukraine's regions and regional politics.
Ukrainian media criticized him for driving sports cars during the invasion, but he denied any wrongdoing and said the cars were rented.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Oleksiy Simonenko, who came under fire after media reported that he spent the New Year holidays with his family in the Spanish town of Marbella during the war, was also relieved of his post.
Simonenko did not comment publicly on these criticisms. The European Union has made anti-corruption one of the key reforms that Ukraine had to implement before it could gain the status of a candidate to join the bloc.
And the Ukrainian Center for Economic Strategy for Research announced that the total amount of Western aid (financial, military and others) to Ukraine could reach $100 billion in 2023, including more than $40 billion for its armed forces.
In all the facts taken together, the Americans and Europeans know the extent of corruption and where their money goes, but the hysteria they possessed against Russia makes them turn a blind eye to that.. It is the West that neglects its people under the interests of its rulers.