On Tuesday, amid allegations of corruption, the deputy defence minister and the deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office both submitted their resignations.
Following the highest-profile allegations of corruption since Russia began its invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced changes to personnel at the highest levels shortly after the high-level departures.
According to a statement from the defence ministry, Vyacheslav Shapovalov’s resignation was “a worthy deed” that would maintain public confidence in the department. His departure, according to local media, was connected to a scandal involving the purchase of supplies for the Ukrainian military. Allegedly, contracts for food were signed at exorbitant costs.
Separately, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the Ukrainian president’s office, claimed he had requested the president relieve him of his responsibilities. Tymoshenko was one of the officials accused in September of stealing more than $7 million in aid intended for the southern Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine.
In the midst of the larger exodus, two deputy ministers from the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine resigned on Tuesday. Ivan Lukerya and Vyacheslav Negoda both confirmed the actions via
Oleksiy Symonenko, Ukraine’s deputy prosecutor general, was reportedly fired from his position as a result of the reorganisation, according to the prosecutor general’s office. Symonenko has been at the centre of a controversy surrounding a trip to Spain.
Following a presidential decree, Ukraine’s government later fired five regional governors. They represent the leaders of Kyiv’s surrounding region as well as the regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson.
After the allegations of graft surfaced late on Monday, President Zelenskyy promised personnel changes in the national government, local governments, and security forces.
The president stated that the war would not divert attention from his government’s efforts to combat corruption in his nightly video address.
