Three corruption reports that surfaced around 14 August 2023
Reports published by 12 August 2023 pointed to graft at recruitment centres and questions over defence procurement.
What did Ukrainians learn about the integrity of their wartime defence system in the days before 14 August 2023? Three reports, all dated 12 August, addressed the question from different angles.
The first concerned military recruitment. A government investigation found corruption at recruitment centres in 11 regions and opened 112 criminal proceedings. Bribes averaged around US$6,000 for a medical certificate granting an exemption from military service.
The second concerned arms supply. A New York Times investigation reported that a company tied to Serhiy Pashynskyi, who had previously been under investigation for corruption, had become the biggest private arms supplier to the Ministry of Defence.
The third concerned clothing for troops. The investigative website Dzerkalo Tyzhnia published documents showing that the Ministry of Defence had overpaid for summer camouflage kits bought as winter coats. The documents were suspected to be related to an investigation launched in June by Ukraine's security services into Vyacheslav Shapovalov, a former Deputy Defense Minister.
A pattern in the reporting
Taken together, the reports touched on who is called up, who supplies the army and how money is spent on soldiers' equipment. They came from a government inquiry, an international newspaper and a Ukrainian investigative outlet, a mix of official and journalistic scrutiny.
