Ukraine’s Zelenskyy sacks top National Guard official, says anti-corruption drive to continue

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired a high-ranking National Guard security official through a decree and stated that his efforts to clean up the government would persist, reported Reuters.

In recent weeks, numerous officials have been dismissed and investigations have been launched as part of a broad effort to combat misconduct. The European Union states that combating corruption is a precondition for Ukraine’s membership in the 27-nation bloc.

Zelenskyy dismissed Ruslan Dziuba as deputy commander of the National Guard, according to a brief decree issued by the presidential office. It did not give any reasons for the move.

Zelenskyy, who has stressed the need for the defence ministry, in particular, to be cleaned up, did not specifically mention Dziuba in his daily video address.

Instead, he indicated that he had convened with officials from the defense and law enforcement sectors to explore strategies for safeguarding institutions against attempts, both from within and outside, to undermine their effectiveness and efficiency.

“All this activity is not just about certain episodes or criminal proceedings … the state will continue to modernize the institutions themselves. The purity of the work of state structures must be guaranteed,” he was quoted as saying by the news agency, Reuters.

On Thursday, Ukraine’s Defense Minister announced that hundreds of officials within the Ministry and military forces faced disciplinary action last year as a result of internal audits and that he had “zero tolerance” for corruption.