By Isle of Wight Observer
Dear Editor,
Adam Webb (Island Soapbox, December 13) quite rightly states there is long-standing corruption in the Ukraine. Zelensky has tried to deal with the problem to increase his chances of getting EU and NATO membership. He has fired top Ukrainian officials, including Ivan Bakanov, former head of State Security Service, in July 2022 to demonstrate his efforts to crack down on corruption.
On January 28, 2024, it was widely reported that the Ukrainian Security Services stated that employees from a Ukrainian arms firm, Lviv Arsenal, conspired with defence ministry officials to embezzle more than £31 million earmarked to buy 100,000 motor shells for the war with Russia. This incident was reported in many national and international news outlets.
After receiving payment, Lviv Arsenal should have transferred the funds to a business registered abroad who would then deliver the ammunition to the Ukraine. The good were never delivered and the money was sent to various accounts in the Ukraine and the Balkans. Ukraine’s Prosecutor General says the funds have been seized and will be returned to the Ukraine’s defence budget. This behaviour is an insult to the UK taxpayers who are funding the Ukraine war and the country is certainly not ready to join the EU and NATO.
I truly hope that Zelensky makes peace with his next-door neighbour, Putin, very soon. Ukrainian and Russian people are inter-related by marriage, language and culture. It is tragic that they are killing each other. I also wish that our government would encourage a peace settlement in order to reduce the risk of Russian retaliation towards the innocent UK population and allow Ukrainian people to return to their homes.
Helen Shaw, Newport