Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s firing of senior officials shines an uncomfortable light on an issue the Biden administration has largely ignored since the war with Russia broke out: Ukraine’s history of rampant corruption and unstable governance. As it moves forward with providing tens of billions of dollars in military, economic and direct financial support to Ukraine and encourages its allies to do the same, the Biden administration is again confronting long-standing concerns about Ukraine’s suitability as a recipient of massive infusions of American aid. Those issues, which go back decades and were no small part of former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment, had been largely at the fore in the immediate run-up to Russia’s invasion and in the early months of the conflict as the US and partners rallied to the defense of Ukraine. But Zelensky’s firings over the weekend of his top prosecutor, intelligence chief and other senior officials reignited those concerns and may have inadvertently brought new attention to allegations of high-level corruption in Kyiv made by an outspoken US lawmaker. It’s a delicate issue for the Biden administration. With billions in aid flowing to Ukraine, the White House continues to prop up the Zelenskyi administration to an American public increasingly focused on domestic issues such as high gas prices and inflation. High-profile supporters of Ukraine in both parties also want to avoid a backlash that could make it harder to approve future aid packages. US officials are quick to say that Zelensky has the right to appoint whomever he wants to top posts, including attorney general, and remove anyone he deems to be working with Russia. But even as Russian troops massed near the Ukrainian border last fall, the Biden administration was pressing Zelensky to do more to crack down on corruption — a perennial US demand dating back to the early days of Ukraine’s independence. “In all our relationships, including this one, we don’t invest in personalities. we invest in institutions and, of course, President Zelensky talked about his rationale for these personnel changes,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters Monday. Price declined to comment further on Zelensky’s reasoning for the firings or to go into specifics, but said there was no doubt that Russia was trying to interfere in Ukraine. “Moscow has long sought to overthrow, to destabilize the Ukrainian government,” Price said. “Ever since Ukraine chose the path of democracy and Western orientation, this has been something that Moscow has tried to reverse.” However, in October and again in December 2021, as the US and others warned of the growing possibility of a Russian invasion, the Biden administration called out the Zelensky administration for inaction on corruption that had little or nothing to do with Russia. “The EU and the US are deeply disappointed by the inexplicable and unjustified delays in the selection of the Head of the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, a critical body for fighting high-level corruption,” the US Embassy in Kyiv said in October. 9. “We urge the selection committee to continue its work without further delay. The failure to move forward with the selection process undermines the work of anti-corruption agencies established by Ukraine and its international partners,” he said. That special prosecutor was finally selected in late December, but was never appointed to the post. indications that the appointment will be made soon, the dismissal of the attorney general could complicate the matter. The government and high-profile lawmakers have avoided public criticism of Ukraine since Russia’s February invasion. The US has increased the weapons and intelligence it provides to Ukraine despite early concerns about Russian infiltration of the Ukrainian government and existing corruption concerns. A Ukrainian-born MP who rose to prominence early in the war recently broke that unofficial silence. Representative Victoria Spartz, a first-term Republican from Indiana, has made half a dozen visits to Ukraine since the war began. And he was invited to the White House in May and received a pen that President Joe Biden used to sign an aid package for Ukraine, even as he angrily criticized Biden for not doing more to help. But in recent weeks, Spartz accused Zelenskyy of “playing politics” and claimed his top aide Andriy Yermak had sabotaged Ukraine’s defense against Russia. He has also repeatedly called on Ukraine to name the anti-corruption prosecutor, blaming Yermak for the delay. Ukrainian officials hit back. A statement from Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry accused Spartz of spreading “Russian propaganda” and warned it to “stop trying to gain additional political capital with baseless speculation.” US officials gave Spartz a two-hour classified briefing on Friday in hopes of addressing her concerns and encouraging her to tone down her public criticism. He declined to discuss the briefing afterward, but told The Associated Press that “healthy dialogue and debate is good for Congress.” “We’re not here to please people,” he said. “It’s good to think about it.” Hours later, Spartz gave a Ukrainian-language interview broadcast on YouTube in which she again called for the appointment of an independent prosecutor. “This issue needs to be resolved as soon as possible,” he said in the interview. “This is a huge problem for the West, so I think your president should address this issue soon.” Rep. Jason Crowe, a Colorado Democrat who sits on the House Armed Services and Intelligence committees, said he had seen no evidence to support allegations that Zelensky’s inner circle was trying to help Russia. But as the war continues, part of the long-term American strategy in Ukraine should include addressing the waste and mismanagement of resources, he said. “There is no war in the history of the world that is immune to corruption and the people who try to exploit it,” Crowe said. “If there are concerns, we will address them.” Igor Novikov, a former Kyiv-based adviser to Zelenskyy, called many of Spartz’s claims a mixture of “rumors and urban legends and myths.” The allegations against Yermak in particular have been circulating for years, beginning with his interactions with Trump allies who sought disparaging information against Biden’s son, Hunter. “Since we are in a state of war, we must give President Zelensky and his team the benefit of the doubt,” Novikov said. “Until we win this war, we have to trust the president who stayed and fought with the people.”
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