Defense Minister of Ukraine declared “zero tolerance” against corruption – #Defense #Minister #Ukraine #declared #tolerance #corruption
KYIV, February 9 (Reuters) – of Ukraine The defense minister said on Thursday that hundreds of officials in the ministry or the armed forces had been disciplined after internal audits last year and that there was “zero tolerance” for corruption.
Oleksii Reznikov’s comments appeared to be aimed at defending himself and the ministry’s anti-corruption record after a scandal that ousted one of his deputies and cast doubt on his own position.
Reznikov said that in 2022, 621 officials from the armed forces and ministries received fines or reprimands for unspecified “violations”.
“My principled position has been, is and will remain unchanged: zero tolerance for any violations,” he said. Facebookwrote in “All persons found guilty by the relevant authorities are and will be held responsible.”
Reznikov said that after the news in the press about the ministry buying food at an inflated price deputy after his resignation last month, all relevant materials were handed over to law enforcement agencies.
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Deputy and the ministry denied the allegations, but said the deputy minister’s resignation would help preserve public trust.
A few days later the president Reznikov, a senior member of Vladimir Zelensky’s ruling party Ukraine military intelligence chief said he would be replaced by , but later backtracked this week, saying there would be no personnel changes.
Zelensky Tuesday of Ukraine occupied in February last year Russia Reznikov’s departure became even less likely when he called for an end to “rumors or any other pseudo-information” that could undermine unity as he fought against his troops.
In an interview with Reuters on Tuesday of Ukraine national security chief also dismissed speculation that Reznikov would be fired, but stressed the importance of fighting corruption in wartime.
“It is extremely disturbing and difficult for us that this is happening now,” said official Alexey Danilov. “But we have to have the truth and … if it’s confirmed, then the people involved have to answer.”
Reznikov also said he would relaunch his ministry’s anti-corruption department and bring experts and civil activists into the fight against graft, among other steps aimed at transparency.
Added by Max Hunder reportedited by Timothy Heritage
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2023-02-09 21:19:53
Source – reuters
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