An internal probe into alleged pressure on a whistleblower at the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine will be completed this week, Semen Kryvonos, chief of the anti-graft agency also known by its acronym NABU, told a parliamentary committee probing the affair. "The deadline (for the probe into the pressure on
Editor’s note: In accordance with the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified by first names only. As calls mount for U.S. President Joe Biden to step aside in the upcoming presidential election among Democratic party allies in Washington, Ukrainian soldiers more
Scrambling Kremlin propagandists have projected conflicting narratives of disinformation and spin to deflect blame from Russia's July 8 massive missile attack that shocked the world by striking Kyiv’s primary children’s hospital. The deadliest attack in months involving nearly 40 missiles targeting Kyiv and other regions threatens to backfire
Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, the Russian government has focused all of its financial resources on funding the war. As the war is the Kremlin's number one priority, all tools at its disposal have been used: increased taxation, sovereign funds, domestic borrowing, and the printing of
Members of the Ukrainian parliament's anti-corruption committee on June 20 lambasted Semen Kryvonos, head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), for refusing to report at the committee on a scandal over alleged leaks from the NABU. The NABU has been in turmoil since journalists found out in May
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has come under fire as more details emerged over the past weeks about leaks from the bureau and its handling of the scandal. For nearly a month, the country’s key anti-corruption agency has been in turbulence. In late May, it was revealed
Ukraine faces yet another test in its efforts to meet conditions for joining the European Union – the creation of a credible and trustworthy Constitutional Court. The ongoing selection of new Constitutional Court judges under new rules is in its final stages – the judges have already been chosen and need to
The Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) said on May 22 that it had searched the house of a detective of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU). The case involves alleged corruption at the President's Office, law enforcement sources told the Kyiv Independent. The President's Office and the NABU did
Russian President Vladimir Putin's appointment of a new defense minister, Andrey Belousov, is seen as an attempt to streamline Russia's economy and mobilize it for the war effort. Russia's military has faced numerous supply and logistics problems that thwarted its all-out war against Ukraine from the get-go. Two years later,
President Volodymyr Zelensky's term in office is supposed to end on May 20, 2024 – but it won’t. As Russia’s war delayed the elections and Zelensky's term is looking indefinite, Ukraine’s President’s Office is preparing to weather the storm of critics questioning the president’s legitimacy. Officially,
Russian state television has been vocal in painting Western democracies, especially the U.S., as the reason for all of Russia's problems. The desire for U.S.-made products inside Russia, however, remains high, with the country's providers turning to illegal schemes to cover the demand. After Russia launched its
A corruption case against the brother of presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak has been closed, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) told the Kyiv Independent. The case, which was investigated under the abuse of power article, was closed on Dec. 14, 2021 but the closure wasn't publicly announced
As Ukraine's civil society and the country's Western partners call on the authorities to fight corruption amid Russia's full-scale invasion, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) is showing mixed results. A year has passed since Semen Kryvonos became the head of the NABU in March 2023, replacing the bureau’
The March 22 Moscow mass shooting is likely to be used as a justification for a new wave of terror and oppression in Russia. Russian politicians and propagandists began calling for reinstating the death penalty – a mechanism that can be used not only against terrorists but also against the peaceful
The March 15-17 presidential election was the most rigged in Russia's modern history, according to evidence published by election experts, observers, and media. Estimates of vote rigging range from at least 22 million votes to about 31.6 million votes, without taking into account the online voting and the election
Russian authorities on March 15-17 held a presidential election in two countries – Russia and the regions of Ukraine brutally occupied by the Kremlin. The voting was neither free nor fair, with the result known in advance. In the occupied areas, voting was held illegally at gunpoint. In Russia, the elections
In late 2023, Ukraine finally re-launched the process of vetting judges as part of a long anticipated judicial reform – a key condition for Ukraine's accession to the European Union. Four months later, the results are mixed. On the one hand, the High Qualification Commission, a top judicial body, has approved
Viktor Pavlushchyk was chosen on Feb. 25 as the head of the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NACP) - one of Ukraine's main corruption fighting bodies. The Cabinet of Ministers has yet to formally appoint him as the head of the NACP. Pavlushchyk is a detective at the National Anti-Corruption
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's death in jail on Feb. 16 follows a long list of murders and suspicious deaths of opponents of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Since he came to power in 1999, more than 20 Putin critics have been killed or died mysteriously. Many other enemies of the
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's death on Feb. 16 did not come as a surprise for those familiar with Russian politics. Navalny was Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's main opponent, and the Kremlin had used all the tools at its disposal to shut him up. He was sentenced in several fabricated
Season 2 Episode 5 is dedicated to the upcoming Russian presidential election.
Russian elections are usually predictable and dull affairs. The outcome is known beforehand since the Kremlin handpicks all the candidates, has total control over the media and also rigs the votes. Despite this, there has been an unexpected flurry of activity in the run-up to the March 15-17 presidential election
As Russia is waging its war against Ukraine, some high-ranking Ukrainian officials with confirmed or suspected Russian citizenship are doing fine. Ukraine's Constitution bans foreign citizenship for officials. However, in some cases, officials with Russian citizenship are not fired at all, and in other cases Ukraine's judiciary stubbornly resists their
Vsevolod Kniaziev, former chairman of the Supreme Court and a suspect in a bribery case, was released from detention after paying Hr 18 million bail ($450,000) on Jan. 31. Kniaziev has been dismissed from his position as the court's chairman but can return to work as an ordinary judge
Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service has alleged that Roman Ihnatov, head of the High Qualification Commission, a key agency in Ukraine's judicial system, has Russian citizenship. Ihnatov, who worked as an investigator in Russia in the 1990s and was required by the law to be a Russian citizen at the time,
Editor's Note: The original version of this text mistakenly said that Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk received $320,000 in wages from the state in 2022, with the actual figure being $32,000. Some of the electronic asset declarations recently filed by top officials have revealed huge earnings, valuable assets, and links
Russian President Vladimir Putin took four hours on Dec. 14 to boast about Russia's alleged economic and military achievements. Among Putin's key messages was that the war would end when Russia achieved its goals, Western assistance to Ukraine would soon end, and Russia would be doing fine on the battlefield.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Dec. 8 that he would participate in the upcoming presidential elections in March, seeking his 5th term in office. Putin, 71, has been in power since 1999 and it’s all but certain that he will secure a six-year term. Russia’s upcoming presidential
One of Ukraine’s biggest embezzlement cases – that against oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky – is likely to be closed due to a recent court ruling, according to the Anti-Corruption Action Center. The ruling may become a death knell for Ukraine’s long-running efforts to prosecute the flamboyant tycoon. Kolomoisky, who is currently
On the tenth anniversary of the pro-Western EuroMaidan Revolution, the Ukrainian parliament approved the first reading of a bill that effectively destroys one of the key tools of the ongoing judicial reform, the Public Integrity Council. The council is an independent civil society watchdog that assesses the integrity of judges
The Ukrainian parliament on Nov. 21 approved the first reading of a bill that effectively destroys a key pillar of judicial reform, the Public Integrity Council, according to civic watchdogs. The Public Integrity Council, an independent civil society watchdog, assesses the integrity of judges and plays a key role in
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been able to build a sustainable authoritarian state, with its economy surviving the shocks of a full-scale war and the following economic sanctions. The key to Putin's success is a team of talented liberal economists who run the state's monetary and fiscal policy. They have
