New DelhiUkraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday issued a decree sacking a senior security official and said separately that his campaign to clean up the government would continue. Authorities have sacked dozens of officers in recent weeks and launched investigations as part of a wider crackdown on wrongdoing. The European Union says addressing corruption is essential for Ukraine to join the 27-member bloc.
Zelensky dismissed Ruslan Dzyuba as deputy commander of the National Guard, according to a brief decree issued by the President’s Office. It did not give any reason for the move.
Zelensky – who has specifically stressed the need for a Defense Ministry cleanup – did not specifically mention Dziuba in his daily video address.
Instead, he said he had met with defense and law enforcement officials to discuss ways to protect institutions from outside or inside attempts to undermine their effectiveness and efficiency.
Referring to the action, he said: “All this activity is not just about a few episodes or criminal proceedings … The state itself will continue to modernize the institutions. The correctness of the work of state structures must be guaranteed.”
Ukraine’s defense minister said on Thursday that hundreds of officials at the ministry or the armed forces were disciplined last year after an internal audit, and that they have “zero tolerance” for corruption.