Ukrainian authorities have arrested four officials on corruption charges tied to a bribery scheme involving the procurement of military drones and electronic warfare systems. The arrests come just two days after the Ukrainian Parliament restored the independence of the country’s top anti-corruption bodies.
Among those detained is Oleksiy Kuznetsov, a sitting Member of Parliament from President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People party. Also arrested were Serhiy Hvozdov, the former governor of Luhansk Oblast, a district head of a city military administration, and a senior officer within Ukraine’s National Guard. The latter two have not yet been publicly named.
President Zelensky addressed the arrests in a statement on X (formerly Twitter) and during his nightly address, calling the scheme “absolutely immoral” and reaffirming a “zero tolerance” stance on corruption.
The scandal erupted days after the Verkhovna Rada passed legislation on July 31st to restore the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). The move followed widespread protests and mounting criticism from Western officials and media after lawmakers voted the previous week to place the agencies under the control of the Prosecutor General.
Zelensky initially defended the decision as necessary to counter “Russian influence,” but critics argued it was a political maneuver to stifle corruption investigations and consolidate power. The backlash forced a reversal.
Both NABU and SAPO have received significant support from Western countries, particularly the United States and the European Union. Their personnel have been trained by the FBI, and some staff are European nationals. Ukrainian critics have accused the agencies of functioning as instruments of Western influence, citing past requirements that domestic recruits receive clearance from the U.S. Embassy in Kiev before joining.