(Bloomberg) -- Ukraine detained 30 officials nationwide over alleged embezzlement of funds earmarked for the state’s defense, as Kyiv struggles to assure Western donors that it’s properly using assistance.
Those detained are suspects in an investigation into misappropriation of more than UAH 138 million ($3.3 million), Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office said in a statement on its website.
The probe found misuse of funds that had been budgeted for the purchase of various goods, including lumber, electricity, natural gas, furniture and services for the army’s needs, the prosecutor’s office said.
It’s the latest example crackdown by Ukraine’s law enforcement agencies amid Russia’s invasion, now into its third year, in a nation known for endemic corruption.
Allegations of graft and embezzlement against various officials, including high-ranking ones, have rattled a society fatigued by a war that’s killed tens thousands of troops and civilians, created millions of refugees, and devastated the economy.
These issues are also concerns to Ukraine’s allies, led by the US, who’ve provided tens of billions of dollars in financial and military assistance since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
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