Corruption concerns involving Ukraine are revived as the war with Russia drags on

[867-5309.]

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's dismissal of senior officials is casting an inconvenient light on an issue that the Biden administration has largely ignored since the outbreak of war with Russia: Ukraine's history of rampant corruption and shaky governance.

As it presses ahead with providing tens of billions of dollars in military, economic and direct financial support aid to Ukraine and encourages its allies to do the same, the Biden administration is now once again grappling with longstanding worries about Ukraine's suitability as a recipient of massive infusions of American aid.

Those issues, which date back decades and were not an insignificant part of former President Donald Trump's first impeachment, had been largely pushed to the back burner in the immediate run-up to Russia's invasion and during the first months of the conflict as the U.S. and its partners rallied to Ukraine's defense.

But Zelenskyy's weekend firings of his top prosecutor, intelligence chief and other senior officials have resurfaced those concerns and may have inadvertently given fresh attention to allegations of high-level corruption in Kyiv made by one outspoken U.S. lawmaker...

https://www.npr.org/2022/07/20/1112414884/corruption-concerns-involving-ukraine-are-revived-as-the-war-with-russia-drags-o

Are there concerns with where all the money and weapons end up? I'm not sure to what extent we know?

[Tomconroy]

1. I haven't seen many Ukranian yachts in Monte Carlo

.But Rand Paul likes to talk about this.

[Progressive dog]

2. Maybe Ukraine has a deal with Putin to

raise money from the USA. If so, it's certainly working out well for them. (sarcasm)

[FakeNoose]

3. The oligarchs are the corrupting influence - that has always been the case

Ukraine's oligarch problem is just as troubling as Russia's oligarch problem.

However Ukraine has been trying to meet their problem head-on, while Russia never will as long as Pootie is in power. Pres. Zelensky was only elected in 2019 and before that he was a TV actor and stage performer. Zelensky is still relatively new to politics and he's making an effort to rid the Ukrainian government of the oligarchs' corruption. However it will take long time to achieve that goal I'm sure. Tough decisions need to be made and carried out.

I've recently read Marie Yovanovich's memoir "Lessons from the Edge" in which she outlines her career as a Foreign Service Officer leading to her 3-year appointment as Ambassador to Ukraine in 2016. For me the book was really an eye-opener to the problems of corruption in Ukraine and the other states of the former USSR. Yovanovich never interacted directly with Zelensky, since she was fired (by Chump) just one month before Zelensky was elected as their next President. She was later called to Congress to testify in the hearings that lead to Chump's first impeachment. What I loved about her book is her detailed explanation of the recent history in Ukraine, and the Ukrainians' firm resolve to remain separate from Putin's meddling.

The United States must continue to show solidarity with Ukraine and President Zelensky. He is taking steps to rid the country of oligarch corruption and unwanted Russian influence.

[Kaleva]

6. +1

[PortTack]

4. Another hit piece by those that want American involvement to end.

All of the EU and NATO give generously and don’t question where the money is going or the bravery of Ukraine.

Do you watch the front line videos? You understand that it takes millions of dollars a day to fight this genocide?

Please take this OP down!

[Kaleva]

5. I see a huge difference between UKR and Iraq & Afghanistan

And compare it to Russia where levels of corruption made the Russian military into a joke.

[mucifer]

7. The fact that he fired corrupt people says something. We had 4 EFFING YEARS where corruption was

ENCOURAGED in the executive branch and still absolutely no consequences. I'm not talking about Jan 6th. I'm talking about all that other crap with Saudi Arabia and Putin and all the money flowing everywhere to trump, his kids and his budddies. No effing consequences to trump and his cronies.

This is BS IMO!!

[GoCubsGo]

9. It's the same BS logic GOPers use when they complain about

the numbers of migrants apprehended at the border, and the amount of Fentanyl that was caught before it could make it into the country. They make it into a bad thing, instead of evidence that people are actually working on fixing the problem. It's interesting how they ignore the fact that Zelensky wouldn't participate in Trump's corruption. Interesting, but not at all surprising. Anything to keep pushing their "Biden bad" narrative...

[texasfiddler]

8. They need to purge the Russian Oligarch influence from the Ukrainian Government

I trust Zelensky to do this. Of all the money spent by the United States, our support of this war is very well spent.

[tanyev]

10. Ten paragraphs later it is finally revealed that the "one outspoken U.S. lawmaker"

is Victoria Spartz, a Republican from Indiana in her very first term. A statement from Ukraine accuses her of spreading Russian propaganda. I'm sure there are legitimate concerns about Ukrainian corruption, but I've got a lot more trust in the Biden Administration on this than Victoria Spartz. Thanks anyway, NPR.

[thucythucy]

11. "More than one trillion dollars in defense spending is unaccounted for"

That's the US, not Ukraine.

https://ivn.us/2013/07/15/more-than-one-trillion-dollars-in-defense-spending-is-unaccounted-for-2/#:~:text=More%20Than%20One%20Trillion%20Dollars%20in%20Defense%20Spending,failing%20grades%20in%20federal%20accounting%20transparency%20and%20accountability.

Funny how Republicans seem to have no problem with that.

I seem to recall some guy telling people to worry about the beam in their own eye before they whine about the splinter in someone else's.

I wonder who that might have been.