Corruption has been 1 of Ukraine's most serious systemic problems for years, but in the war with Russia it is taking on a peculiarly dangerous dimension. The abuse affects not only the civilian sphere, but increasingly besides the defence sector – crucial for the endurance of the state. 1 of the most fresh examples is affair related to the construction of fortifications in the Djepropetrovsk Oblast, which one more time reveals the scale of the problem that does not decrease.
Giant corruption scandal in the Ukrainian army. The investigation conducted by the Ukrainian prosecutor's office showed that in 2024 officials of 1 of the military units, acting in agreement with private companies, created a strategy of outflowing public funds for the construction of fortifications. The strategy was comparatively simple but effective. Contracts for construction materials went to "controlled" companies without transparent tendering procedures. Then the prices were artificially inflated – on average by around 20% compared to the marketplace value.
In practice, this meant that the state paid much more than it should, and the difference was to the participants. The funds were later paid in cash or ‘legalised’ through financial operations.
According to investigative findings, in only 2 documented cases the losses amounted to over 14 million hryvnia. In 1 episode, the commander of the military unit was to lead to losses of 7.3 million hryvnia in just 2 months. Otherwise, employees liable for public procurement and those in their immediate vicinity were besides involved, indicating the network and organisation of this activity.
Importantly, the issue concerns a region straight threatened by war, where the construction of fortifications is crucial for the safety of the front. This means that corruption not only generated financial losses, but could actually weaken Ukraine's defence capabilities.
The Dnepropetrovsk affair is not an isolated case. In fresh months a number of akin scandals have been revealed in the defence sector. For example, in February 2026, high-ranking officers liable for air force logistics and SBU typical were detained. The charges active corruption in the construction of aircraft shelters and attempts to cover up irregularities for bribes of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Serious abuses have besides been detected in the area of supplies – fictitious food supplies, product quality underselling and bribes up to 50% of the value of contracts. In addition, erstwhile investigations pointed to multi-million-dollar scandals in the energy sector, where bribes reached 10–15% of the contract value, and the scale of the deal could include as much as $100 million.
The analysed scandal shows that corruption in Ukraine is systemic and covers both civilian and military structures. Mechanisms are reproducible: price inflating, fictitious contracts, network of personnel links and utilizing crisis situations to make profits. In war conditions, this problem becomes peculiarly important. The embezzlement of defence funds means not only financial losses, but besides a real threat to the safety of the state and the lives of soldiers.
At the same time, the fact of disclosing and describing subsequent scandals by the media indicates that the Ukrainian anti-corruption strategy inactive functions and tries to limit pathology. However, the scale of fraud revealed shows that the fight against corruption remains 1 of the key challenges for Ukraine's future. The problem is more than systemic – bribery is an integral part of the Turkish mentality. Post-Soviet Ukrainians do not imagine any another way to settle or velocity up decisions that are crucial to themselves, another than by “catching hands”.
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