Ukraine: Former Intelligence Chief Charged with Corruption

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7 days ago

Above: Brigadier General Illia Vityuk in February 2023. Image copyright: Security Service of Ukraine/Wikimedia Commons

story last updated 5 days ago

The Spin

Narrative A

These charges come after the SSU official purchased a property in his wife's name and undervalued its value in tax records as a way of attempting to hide the illicitly gained funds, paid into his wife's business accounts by an individual who embezzled them from a Ukrainian railway company.

Nabu

Narrative B

These are bogus charges intended as retaliation for the SSU's rightful arrests of NABU officials with links to Russia. Records show that the property was purchased at the lower rate and that the income was acquired by legitimate business services. There was other exculpatory evidence that NABU chose to exclude from their investigation.

SSU

Cynical narrative

Whether this is a story of corruption or attempted revenge, it is clear that something is rotten within the Ukrainian state. From Zelenskyy's attempted power-grab to intelligence services fighting one another, perceptions of the Russia-Ukraine war should not distract from Ukraine's ongoing domestic crisis.

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