Zelenskiy flags shake-up after corruption allegations - Reuters

KYIV, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said connected Monday that changes would beryllium announced imminently successful the government, the regions and successful the information forces pursuing allegations of corruption astir a twelvemonth into Russia's invasion.

Zelenskiy, elected by a landslide successful 2019 connected pledges to alteration the mode authorities operated, did not place successful his nightly video code the officials to beryllium replaced.

"There are already unit decisions - immoderate today, immoderate time - regarding officials of assorted levels successful ministries and different cardinal authorities structures, arsenic good arsenic successful the regions and successful the instrumentality enforcement system," Zelenskiy said.

The president said portion of the crackdown would impact toughening oversight connected travelling overseas for authoritative assignments.

Ukrainian media outlets person reported that a fig of furniture ministers and elder officials could beryllium sacked arsenic Zelenskiy tries to streamline the government.

One of the president's apical allies earlier said corrupt officials would beryllium "actively" jailed, mounting retired a zero-tolerance attack aft the allegations came to light.

HISTORY OF CORRUPTION

Ukraine has a agelong past of corruption and shaky governance, though determination person been fewer examples since past year's penetration arsenic Kyiv has sought Western fiscal and subject enactment to assistance combat backmost Russian forces.

Anti-corruption constabulary connected Sunday said they had detained the lawman infrastructure curate connected suspicion of receiving a $400,000 kickback to facilitate the import of generators into wartime Ukraine past September.

A committee of parliament agreed connected Monday to toughen regulations connected procurement aft allegations successful quality reports that the defence ministry had overpaid suppliers for soldiers' food. A draught instrumentality was to beryllium introduced connected partially making procurement prices nationalist successful times of conflict.

Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, quoted by media, told the committee that the reports were based connected a "technical error" with nary wealth changing hands.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau said it was alert of the media study and that it was investigating the imaginable transgression of appropriation of funds oregon maltreatment of powerfulness with respect to procurement worthy implicit 13 cardinal hryvnia ($352 million).

David Arakhamia, caput of Zelenskiy's Servant of the People party, said it had been made wide since Russia's penetration that officials should "focus connected the war, assistance victims, chopped bureaucracy and halt dubious business".

"Many of them got the message. But galore of them did not unfortunately. We're decidedly going to beryllium jailing actively this spring. If the humane attack doesn't work, we'll bash it successful enactment with martial law," helium said.

Timofiy Mylovanov, a erstwhile curate for the economy, commercialized and agriculture, praised the government's "proactive and precise fast" effect to the allegations. He said the lawman infrastructure curate had been instantly fired and pointed to society's "unprecedented" level of attraction successful the matter.

Ukraine, whose system shrank by a 3rd past year, is hugely babelike connected Western fiscal assistance and donors specified arsenic the International Monetary Fund and EU person repeatedly asked for much transparency and amended governance.

($1 = 36.9250 hryvnias)

Reporting by Tom Balmforth and Olena Harmash; Editing by Peter Graff and Stephen Coates

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