Ukraine finds itself at a delicate and dangerous moment. It will soon be four years since Russia launched its full-scale war; the town of Pokrovsk is about to fall after a long, bloody siege; and the recent shelling of the capital, Kyiv, was one of the heaviest since 2022. And now US President Donald Trump has put forward a peace plan that is a sort of AI translation of the Kremlin’s demands for Ukraine: to surrender territory, cut the size of its army and abandon many modern weapons systems.
Against this backdrop, it might seem that a corruption investigation focused on President Volodymyr Zelensky’s inner circle could not come at a worse time. But this may turn out to be just the scandal Ukraine needs to show why it deserves to survive with its sovereignty intact.
Public anger about the embezzlement of at least $100 million by a group led by a close friend and business partner of Zelensky is intense and widespread. But my Ukrainian friends – none of them a fan of the president – consider the investigation to be proof that anti-corruption measures are working even in the midst of war. Whatever the military balance on the frontline, the political balance is unambiguous.
Ukraine, at the insistence of its Western partners, established two anti-corruption organs in 2015. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) investigate allegations of official wrongdoings, no matter how close to the centres of power they must go. NABU recently released a series of slick videos about the current investigation, code-named “Midas.” Intercepted conversations involving the main suspects (speaking in Russian) are punctuated by NABU’s explanations (in Ukrainian) of who is speaking and about what: mostly men – counting money, swearing and badmouthing others.
This summer, after Zelensky had Parliament pass a law curtailing NABU and SAPO, thousands of young people carrying placards took to the streets in protest. The slogans were spontaneous and direct. One MP carried a sign saying simply, “Ukraine is not Russia.” A veteran with both legs amputated above the knee carried one saying: “We fight for Ukraine, not for your impunity.” A young boy in Lviv changed the name of Zelensky’s party, “Servant of the People,” into “Servant of Lawlessness.” Nine days later, the law was repealed.
In Ukraine, the investigation of Zelensky’s circle is well documented because the country has these two state organs and a platter of watchdog agencies. All tenaciously uncover dirt and expose it through their own media, as well as online news outlets that anyone can access. Several news organisations broadcast on YouTube, while reports, commentaries, talk shows, and vigorous discussions populate Telegram channels, Facebook, and X. Suggestions of who is involved, and how deeply, abound, sparing no one.
The most prominent among online newspapers is probably Ukrainska Pravda. Its current editor is Sevgil Musayeva, a Crimean Tatar. Under her leadership, the paper’s coverage of the latest corruption scandal would make any Western outlet proud: daily reports (in Ukrainian, Russian and English), opinion pieces, plus Telegram, Instagram and TikTok channels. A recent video investigation sought to uncover who may have tipped off the main defendant, who fled the country a few hours before his apartment was searched.
Ukrainska Pravda also prepared a 20-minute video report on corruption. Viewed by almost 150,000 people in the first three days, it “collected all of Zelensky's main statements about his attitude towards corruption (since 2019),” according to an accompanying text.
No matter where the corruption investigation leads, the fact that Ukraine is an example of a former Soviet republic that aspires to democracy and the rule of law is precisely why Russia is determined to obliterate it. A state that exposes its scandals and scoundrels, and a public that demands accountability regardless of who the rogues may be, is his worst fear. Project Syndicate, 2025
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