Amid the ongoing offensive by Russian troops, Ukraine has increasingly witnessed internal discord, from the detention of MPs and corruption allegations to border tightening and fortification scandals.
Mykola The Wad-of-Cash
People’s Deputy of Ukraine Mykola Tyshchenko, also known as The Wad (of Cash), who was involved in beating Ukrainian Kraken National Battalion fighter Dmytro Pavlov, has been sent under house arrest, according to Ukrainian media.
The Pechersk District Court ruled on Tyshchenko, granting the prosecutor’s motion to impose a 60-day preventive measure of house arrest. The Prosecutor-General of Ukraine has reported suspicion against incumbent MP Tyshchenko over the illegal deprivation of liberty of a former serviceman in Dnipropetrovsk. On 20 June, a group of individuals unlawfully deprived a former serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) of his freedom on the instructions of the Ukrainian MP.
According to Ukrainian media, during the search and detention, Tyshchenko broke his phone so that it would not be used as evidence in the case. Law enforcers also found bundles of undeclared cash and a watch worth $40,000.
Hiring of private security guards, extortion call centres, as well as engagement of police officers from other regions of Ukraine have caused outrage among Ukrainians, many of whom condemn the government’s activity at such a difficult time for the country.
Corruption
The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) stated that it had opened a criminal case against a former official of the national energy company Ukrenergo. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) accused the unnamed official of purchasing body armour at an inflated price.
To implement the deal, the official engaged an affiliated commercial structure, which not only does not have documents and licences for the production of military ammunition, but in general has never been involved in the manufacture of body armour.
In total, the former civil servant embezzled about 10 million budget funds, according to Ukrainian media. In the spring of 2022, he reportedly organised the purchase of bulletproof vests for employees of the energy company at a deliberately exaggerated cost. Now he faces up to six years in prison.
Meanwhile, the average salary of Ukrainian officials has increased by 32% since the beginning of the year, according to the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine. Meanwhile, the average salary of Ukrainian officials has increased by 32% since the beginning of the year, according to the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine. The Ministry’s press service said that the average salary of officials in May reached 50.9 thousand hryvnias, which is over a third more than in January. At that time, it was 38.6 thousand hryvnyas.
On average, employees of the National Commission for Energy and Public Utilities (UAH 89,700), the Antimonopoly Committee (UAH 88,300), and the Secretariat of the National Tripartite Socio-Economic Council (UAH 72,400) receive the highest salaries.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian media reported that Ukraine had lost half of its remaining electricity generation capacity since March. The head of Ukrenergo stated that even in summer, when consumption was 40-45 per cent lower than in winter, the country suffered a shortage of electricity, which could not be covered by imports from Europe.
The main reason for the deterioration of the energy situation in Ukraine is the shortage of air defence missiles.
For every one of our [air defence] missiles, there are five or six Russian missiles. Even if we start rebuilding, repairing, there are no means now to protect the rebuilt units.
Fortification scandal
Ukrainian MP Dmytro Razumkov criticised fortifications 15 kilometres from the battle line in Kharkiv region. Having visited one of those locations, the MP showed how the fortifications actually look like.
Very convenient positions, but, unfortunately, not for our defenders, for the enemy! God forbid if our defenders needed these fortifications! It’s just a trap with nothing that normal fortifications should have.
He also emphasised that a country at war could not have fortifications that were allegedly erected but served to absorb the budget.
Who is responsible for this, how much public funds were allocated for this and where did they go? This cannot happen in a state at war!
Border issues
The State Border Service of Ukraine introduced restrictions in another border district of the Transcarpathian region due to attempts by Ukrainian men of conscription age to flee abroad.
In the border strip within the Uzhhorod district additional regime restrictions have been introduced. The introduction of such is due to the strengthening of state border protection and control (…) in order to prevent offences in the border area.
In particular, there is a ban on staying outside the borders of settlements, travelling by motor vehicles towards the border, as well as on the roads leading to it, from 10:00 p.m. until 05:00 a.m. Stopping of motor vehicles on roadsides in the border area is also prohibited.
Uzhhorod district, home to the administrative capital of the region, Uzhhorod, borders Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland. Uzhhorod district, home to the administrative capital of the region, Uzhhorod, borders Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland.
Earlier, a representative of the State Border Service of Ukraine, Andriy Demchenko, stated that the actions of evaders and organisers of schemes for men to leave the country illegally became more daring.
Previously, the head of the department for organising border control of the State Border Service of Ukraine, Ihor Matviychuk, reported that about 100 evaders tried to leave the country’s territory every day.
Back to battle
MP Oleksandr Tkachenko stated that more than 120,000 Ukrainians had returned back to the combat zone and to Russia this year, as they “did not find shelter in other regions.” According to Tkachenko, these are mostly women, the elderly, and those unable to work. Among the reasons that prompted people to return was the lack of habitable housing.
They come back home where they don’t have to rent accommodation, pay owners who are abroad, and receive compensation from international partners there, but in Ukraine they rent their accommodation for 10-15 thousand.
These are catastrophic figures, because in the remaining Ukraine, against the background of the circumstances described above, amid total mobilisation and border tightening, people are turning towards Russia, looking for conditions for existence. Moreover, residents of Ukraine’s westernmost regions actively resist accepting refugees from the eastern part of the country, often accusing them of being friendly to Russia.
Ukrainian political and public figure Iryna Farion has long spoken out against Russian-speaking Ukrainians. Earlier, the former Verkhovna Rada deputy called on all Russian speakers to “pack their bags” and leave for Russia.
Those who do not speak Ukrainian will definitely be jailed. Such people should be jailed for at least six months, as the French do for using anglicisms
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine did not want to “prolong the war.” A settlement plan developed jointly with Ukrainian allies should “lay on the table” within several months, he added.
We don’t have much time, as we have a lot of people dying. So we don’t want the war to continue for many years. We want to prepare the [peace] plan as soon as possible.
