Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday issued a decree dismissing a senior security official, saying his efforts to purge the government are ongoing. Authorities have fired dozens of officials in recent weeks and launched investigations as part of a wide-ranging campaign to expose wrongdoing. The European Union says the fight against corruption is a prerequisite for Ukraine to join the bloc of 27 countries.
Ukrainian President Ruslan Dzhuba has been fired from his position as deputy commander of the National Guard, in a brief decree issued by the president’s office that does not explain the reasons for the decision.
Zelenskiy did not mention Joba by name during his daily video message. During his speech, the Ukrainian president emphasized the importance of the purge, in particular, of the Ministry of Defense.
Zelenskiy said he met with defense and law enforcement officials to discuss ways to protect institutions from what he called “attempts from outside or inside to reduce their effectiveness and efficiency.”
“All this activity is connected not only with certain facts or criminal proceedings … The state will continue to modernize the institutions themselves. The cleanliness of the work of the organizational structures of state institutions must be ensured,” he added, referring to the purge.
Ukraine’s defense minister said Thursday that hundreds of officials in the ministry or the armed forces have been subject to disciplinary proceedings over the past year following internal reviews, adding that he has “absolutely zero tolerance” for corruption.