State Department: Corruption cases among Ukrainian officials do not involve US aid
The recent corruption scandals that led to the biggest government reshuffle since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 do not appear to have involved the military and humanitarian assistance supplied to Ukraine by the United States, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Jan. 24.
"We are not aware that any U.S. assistance was involved in what we’ve heard about in recent hours," Price said during a briefing.
A deputy head of the President's Office, a deputy prosecutor general, several deputy ministers, and several governors were ousted on Jan. 24 following a number of scandals, including corruption ones. President's Office Deputy Head Kyrylo Tymoshenko resigned following multiple scandals.
Calls for further oversight into aid to Ukraine amid fears the support was being misused have been heard in the U.S. Congress since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. Price, however, said that the United States is "always engaged in rigorous oversight and accountability."
"As of right now, we are certainly not aware that any U.S. assistance was involved in the allegations that we’ve heard about from our Ukrainian partners. But this is an ongoing effort. Day in, day out, teams in Kyiv, teams back here are working to ensure that our support, the tremendous amount of support that we’re providing – security assistance, humanitarian assistance, economic assistance – it is going to its intended objectives."
