LVIV, Ukraine, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that corruption, the country's chronic problem cast into the background by the war against Russia, would not be tolerated and promised forthcoming key decisions on uprooting it this week.
Zelenskiy's pledge came amidst allegations of senior-level corruption, including a report of dubious practices in military procurement despite officials promoting national unity to confront the invasion.
Ukraine has had a long history of rampant corruption and shaky governance, with Transparency International ranking the country's corruption at 122 of 180 countries, not much better than Russia in 2021.
The EU has made anti-corruption reforms one of its key requirements for Ukraine's membership after granting Kyiv the candidate status last year.
"This week will be the time for appropriate decisions," Zelenskiy said.
I do not want to make them public at this time, but it will all be fair.".
The renewed focus on corruption involved also Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov after a newspaper reported that the military had allegedly secured food at highly inflated prices. »
