"Embezzlement of 100,000 Shells" Ukraine at War, 50 Billion Won Military Supply Corruption Scandal

Ordered Mortar Shells... Payment Made Without Delivery
Zelensky Urgently Discloses Assets... No Supporting Documents

In Ukraine, which has been at war with Russia for three years with weapons support from the United States and other Western countries, a large-scale military procurement corruption scandal involving over 50 billion won has erupted, drawing widespread condemnation from the international community. The Ukrainian government is rushing to contain the situation, fearing it may lead to a reduction in Western support, but it is expected that the already growing fatigue of Western countries engaged in this prolonged war of attrition will only deepen their criticism.

[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

According to foreign media including CNN on the 27th (local time), the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced that it has indicted five individuals, including current and former senior officials of the Ministry of Defense and representatives of a weapons manufacturer, on charges of embezzling approximately 1.5 billion hryvnias (about 53.5 billion won) related to a shell purchase contract.

According to the SBU, the suspects signed a contract in August 2022 with the weapons manufacturer Lviv Arsenal to purchase 100,000 mortar shells, with payment made in advance. However, the company did not deliver the weapons. Investigations revealed that part of the funds was transferred to other overseas accounts. One of the suspects was arrested while attempting to flee across the Ukrainian border.

Corruption among Ukrainian officials has been notorious since the 1990s, following independence from the former Soviet Union. Despite the presence of dozens of Soviet-era nuclear weapons in Ukraine, it is known that a significant number of these weapons were illicitly removed. During Russia’s forced annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, military procurement corruption and various other corruption issues also came to light.

Even now, as the war in Ukraine enters its third year, corruption within the military continues to occur frequently. President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has made anti-corruption a key national agenda, abruptly dismissed Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov last September, holding him accountable for corruption incidents related to the procurement of military uniforms and food supplies.

In response to the international outcry, President Zelensky disclosed his income for two years from 2021 to 2022 on the presidential office’s website on the same day. In 2021, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Zelensky and his family reported an income of 10,824,507 hryvnias (about 380 million won). This included proceeds from the sale of government bonds worth 5,359,600 hryvnias, as well as salary, bank interest, and rental income from real estate.

Zelensky emphasized that this was a decrease from the 11,922,320 hryvnias reported in 2020. However, since no detailed supporting documents were provided, suspicions of personal embezzlement by President Zelensky continue to spread.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.