Zelensky wants justice at home amid claims of corruption

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY has hinted he may fire several ministers after a flurry of corruption scandals as speculation grows of a cabinet reshuffle.

Mr Zelensky, who on Sunday fired a deputy minister who was accused of accepting a bribe, used his nightly address yesterday to promise “justice” at home rather than talk about the war.

“I want this to be a signal to anyone whose actions or behaviour violate the principle of justice,” he said of the dismissal of Vassily Lozinsky, the deputy minister for development of communities, territories and infrastructure.

“This week will be the time of appropriate decisions. Already prepared.

“What concerns energy and procurement. What concerns the relations between the central government and the regions. The thing about procurement for the military.”

He did not go into details but seemed to be referring to an investigation into the defence ministry in Kyiv, which is accused of buying rations for soldiers at inflated prices.

Officers from Ukraine’s National Anticorruption Bureau arrested Mr Lozinsky on corruption charges on Saturday. The agency said he was caught redhanded accepting a $400,000 (£324,000) bribe for arranging procurement, at inflated prices, of generators to provide electricity during blackouts.

His arrest came as a Ukrainian news website accused the defence ministry of complicity in a scheme to defraud taxpayers by artificially inflating food procurement prices. Zerkalo Nedeli published a procurement contract that it said showed the military was paying two to three times the regular retail price for foodstuffs in several regions.