The move follows a dramatic reversal of law that had curbed the anti-corruption agencies and sparked rare wartime demonstrations.
Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies said on Aug. 2 they had uncovered a large-scale bribery scheme involving the procurement of military drones and electronic warfare equipment.
This came just days after the agencies’ independence was restored following mass protests over government efforts to curb their powers.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) said in a statement on Saturday that the alleged plot involved a sitting lawmaker, current and former regional officials, National Guard personnel, and a company executive.
Investigators alleged that those involved had refined a scheme over the past two years to systematically siphon off budget funds allocated by local authorities for defense needs, and to secure “unfair benefits in particularly large quantities.”
Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda, citing unnamed law enforcement sources, identified the accused lawmaker as Oleksii Kuznetsov of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People party.
Party leader Davyd Arakhamiia later said on Telegram that Kuznetsov’s membership in the parliamentary faction would be suspended while the investigation is underway, and that a disciplinary panel was weighing his expulsion.
The Epoch Times has reached out to the Ukrainian parliament’s press office with a request to forward a comment request to Kuznetsov.
In a separate statement, the party said it supported the work of NABU and SAPO, and stressed that responsibility for corrupt acts “must be borne by everyone, regardless of position, status or political affiliation.”
It said the recently passed law restoring the agencies’ independence “created additional guarantees for their work,” for them to act decisively and professionally in combating corruption.
Zelenskyy said in a statement posted on X on Saturday that he had been briefed on the investigation by the heads of NABU and SAPO, confirming that a lawmaker, local officials, and several National Guard servicemembers had been “exposed for bribery.”
“I am grateful to the anti-corruption agencies for their work,” he wrote. “There can only be zero tolerance for corruption, clear teamwork in uncovering it, and ultimately, a fair sentence. It is important that anti-corruption institutions operate independently, and the law passed on Thursday guarantees them all the tools necessary for a real fight against corruption.”
The law he referred to marked a dramatic about-face for his administration.
By Tom Ozimek
