The Strategic Costs of Corruption in Ukraine: Foreign Policy, National Security and Global Standing
Introduction:
Ukraine retains a history of corruption scandals since post-Soviet independence, with oligarchic influence, bribery and embezzlement remaining significant problems within Ukrainian society. In response to such issues, particularly since the heightening of conflict with Russia since 2022, the government has been eager to respond, pushing a growth in anti-corruption policies, including the introduction of anti-corruption bodies aiming to tackle all levels of corruption (Kotukov et al., 2023). The effectiveness of such approaches is somewhat evident with Ukraine gradually improving in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) from 1.5 in 2000 to 36 in 2023 (Ketners and Tsiatkovska, 2024). Nevertheless, scandals persist, most recently involving a business associate of President Zelensky, Timur Mindich, involved in a scandal regarding the skimming of 10-15% from Energoatom contracts, including those meant to protect substations from Russian missiles (Rodnyanksy, 2025). Corruption scandals such as these pose a significant threat to the national security, foreign relations and overall perception of Ukraine on the global stage. There exists a wide range of definitions of corruption due to its expansive meaning and significance. For the purposes of this essay, the definition provided by Transparency International will be adopted due to its flexibility: “the abuse of entrusted power for private gain” (Transparency International, 2025). This essay will explore and analyse how corruption has and continues to negatively impact Ukrainian national security, foreign policy and global standing, arguing that despite growing anti-corruption efforts, more must be done in order to protect and advance Ukrainian interests, particularly in the face of increasing Russian aggression.
Background
Corruption in Ukraine relates back to post-Soviet independence; contemporary criminal syndicates and oligarchic structures emerged during the collapse of the USSR, accumulating illegal wealth by blurring the lines between politics and criminal entrepreneurship (Marovska and Serduyk, 2015). Beginning in the early 2000s, criminals came to dominate the political landscape through offering payments to the existing systems; clientelism and corruption that previously existed in the Soviet Union retained influence post-independence. Creative entrepreneurs took advantage of the shaken political networks, strengthening a system of personal ties and state capture, acquiring mass media in order to manipulate public opinion and developing informal networks. This process was formalised by the election of President Viktor Yanukovych in 2010, whose legacy was marked by corruption and clientelism (Leitner and Meissner, 2018). This appointment highlighted the return of oligarchic power in Ukraine, with business elites becoming enmeshed in political structures (Puglisi et al., 2008), and resulted in the Euromaidan revolutions in 2013 in response to Yanukovych’s delayed signing of the EU association agreement, a shift towards pro-Russian policy and a revolt against the failure of new political elites in reforming Ukraine and rebuilding statehood (Shveda and Park, 2016). Following the revolution, a system of anti-corruption bodies was established, and since the beginning of President Zelensky’s term in office, he has continued to set corruption as a top priority, particularly following the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, where anti-corruption measures have increased significantly (Cifuentes-Faura, 2024), reflected by the increase in Ukraine’s standing in the CPI and growing optimism of Ukrainian citizens in the fight against corruption. Nevertheless, scandal and corruption continue to undermine effective governance and economic stability within Ukraine since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. Ukraine has experienced a number of high-profile corruption scandals involving wartime procurement, energy contracts and government officials.
The Impact of Corruption on Foreign Policy
In the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine, corruption has emerged as a key issue influencing foreign policy and diplomatic relations. Wartime pressures have increased reform urgency as Ukraine relies on foreign aid and investment from key western partners such as the US and key EU member states. As such, a growth in massive corruption schemes has undermined foreign policy initiatives; several Ukrainian rulers have been accused of corruption and of diverting funds intended to fight the war. For instance, deputy minister Vasyl Lozinski was arrested in 2023 on charges of receiving bribes and diverting $400,000 from contracts for the purchase of electricity generators and other equipment (Cifuentes-Faura, 2024). Leaders such as Orban have been quick to seize on corruption scandals to demand the EU limit foreign aid (Sharp, 2025), and Trump has justified suspensions of aid in part due to increasing corruption concerns. Recently Donald Trump Jr criticised corruption in Ukraine off the back of a high-profile corruption case involving some of President Zelensky’s top aides, suggesting that his father may walk away from the country (Toosi, 2025).
In response to a growth in corruption schemes, anti-corruption bodies and policies have been adopted and prioritised by President Zelensky. Anti-corruption measures have included the introduction of financial control mechanisms, strengthening responsibility for corruption crimes, the creation of specialised anti-corruption bodies and the involvement of the public in the process of monitoring the activities of civil servants (Ketners and Tsiatkovska, 2024). A three-level structure of anti-corruption bodies, including a national agency on corruption prevention (NACP), the national anti-corruption bureau (NABU) and the high anti-corruption court of Ukraine (HACC) have coordinated together to effectively tackle issues of corruption (Kotukov et al., 2023). Furthermore, a forum on anti-corruption strategies for Ukraine for 2026-2030 discussed evolving anti-corruption practices and innovative policy priorities on the expectations of international partners such as the OECD, IMF, World Bank and NATO (UNDP, 2025). This is evidenced in the growth of Ukraine in the CPI by 8 points over the last 10 years alongside opinion polls demonstrating a gradual decline in the corruption experiences of Ukrainians (NACP, 2025). These findings demonstrate the growing effectiveness of anti-corruption policy responses; however, despite some improvement, grand corruption remains a key problem in Ukraine. Ukraine faces both petty and grand corruption. Petty corruption is widespread and accepted as almost inevitable, grand corruption results from weak rule of law and widespread oligarchic influence. Although the EU has backed anti-corruption reforms, grand corruption remains a key problem in Ukraine and a significant obstacle to further foreign investment and aid (European Court of Auditors, 2021). Furthermore, despite a growth of anti-corruption bodies and related legislation, the government has been quick to limit the effectiveness of bodies such as NABU. In July 2025, the Verkhovna Rada passed a law that effectively dismantled the independence of NABU by placing it under the authority of the Prosecutor General (Jędrysiak, 2025), although independence was quickly restored following public protests. This example demonstrates the limitations of the effectiveness of anti-corruption practices.
Grand corruption remains a significant problem for developing Ukrainian foreign relations, particularly as IMF loans to Ukraine rely on structural reform conditions, including improved anti-corruption policies (Hanina and Rakić, 2024), and EU membership accession requires meeting the Copenhagen Criteria, including stable democratic institutions, rule of law and human rights. Therefore, despite continued improvement throughout the past century due to growing anti-corruption policies and bodies, Ukraine still retains issues of grand corruption within its political structures. A recent report commissioned by the European Commission states that “limited progress” has been made in the fight against corruption in Ukraine, noting that significant amendments should be implemented in order to improve transparency (European Commission, 2025). These setbacks in anti-corruption policy create significant limitations on Ukrainian foreign policy, in particular EU accession and foreign aid.
The Impact of Corruption on National Security
Corruption issues also pose significant threats to national security within Ukraine; this creates structural vulnerabilities within the state, creating military weakness, loss of territorial integrity, potential foreign interference and institutional collapse (Makarenkov, 2024). This is a particularly significant problem in Ukraine given the ongoing war with Russia. The main danger of corruption lies in its destructive impact on the foundations of a state system; by undermining public confidence in the government, corruption causes social tensions, resulting in a loss of economic potential and weakening control over strategic sectors of defence. This can significantly limit the state's ability to effectively combat crime, terrorism and external threats (Nikolaienko, 2024).
Corruption within military procurement in Ukraine is no longer a deformation of social development but almost the norm; this poses one of the most serious threats to national security. Numerous scandals have revealed unchecked corruption occurring within military procurement, with the main elements often consisting of overestimation of the cost of state defence orders, withdrawal of amounts through shell companies and the implementation of the principle of one contract, one voice, leading to a sharp increase in administrative costs. For instance, in December 2023 an employee of the Ministry of Defence was detained in Kyiv after it was revealed that he was attempting to steal 1.5 billion hryvnia allocated for the purchase of ammunition for the Ukrainian army (Mik, 2024). This issue is ongoing with the aforementioned Energoatom scandal in 2025 involving Zelensky’s business associate Timur Mindich, revealing limitations of anti-corruption policies in military procurement (Sharp, 2025). Corruption development as an ongoing threat to national security involves administrative seizure involving the deliberate creation of a deficit of public services; capture of the economy through the use of special strategies by authorities, oligarchy, and criminal and terrorist groups and seizure of the state including active pressure from business, oligarchy, and criminal and terrorist groups in order to ensure the adoption of certain decisions (Kovalchuk Y et al., 2022).
Furthermore, corruption and weakness in security services have enabled Russian infiltration, weakening national security and state stability. The Ukrainian state security services (SBU) remain a largely over capacitated institution, with a lack of institutional oversight creating ample opportunity for corruption and treason. For example, in July 2022, Zelensky dismissed SBU chief Ivan Bakanov and Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova due to treasonous activity (Dickinson, 2022). The lack of reform in these bodies has created loopholes allowing Russian interference and significantly hampering state security. Following an investigation in 2022, over 600 Russian agents were exposed in 2022-2023, of which at least 30% worked in government bodies (UkraineWorld, n.d.). The lack of effective measures to tackle these issues has created effective loopholes in national security, weakening state services and public trust in government institutions.
Conclusion
To conclude, Ukraine has made a substantial effort to improve transparency through anti-corruption policies, bodies, and oversight mechanisms aimed at moving away from post-Soviet oligarchic structures. Nevertheless, a significant level of grand corruption within Ukraine persists (European Court of Auditors, 2021), and, as the European Commission reports, only “limited progress” has been made in overall anti-corruption efforts (European Commission, 2025). The recurrent corruption scandals demonstrate the limitations of anti-corruption policies and pose significant threats to Ukraine’s national and military security by weakening institutional structures and creating exploitable loopholes that may enable Russian interference (Makarenkov, 2024). Furthermore, such scandals weaken Ukraine’s overall global image and international credibility, affecting foreign policy by reducing foreign sympathies. This is a particularly pressing concern given the country’s heavy reliance on external foreign aid and investment due to the ongoing war with Russia.
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