President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced on Friday the dismissal of all heads of regional personnel centers due to suspicions of corruption, Reuters reports.

Volodymyr Zelenskyi with the Ukrainian militaryPhoto: Office of the President of Ukraine / Zuma Press / Profimedia

Zelenskyy said in a press release that checks at recruitment sites revealed evidence of abuses of power, from the acquisition of illegal wealth to the smuggling of men across the border, despite a state of emergency ban declared on the first day of the war and consistently extended since then.

“This system should be headed by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery during war are treason,” Zelenskyy said in a press release.

He clarified that the Chief of the General Staff of Ukraine, General Valery Zaluzhnyi, will be responsible for the implementation of the decision, and future candidates for the positions of heads of recruitment points will first be checked by the SBU, Kyiv SBU.

His statement came after Zelenskyi said for the first time last Thursday that checks on the “military committees” had revealed many abuses.

Zelensky called “disgusting abuses” during conscription for military service

“Inspections revealed many abuses. Frankly, some are disgusting. All facts released by law enforcement officers will be made public and investigated in criminal proceedings,” he said during a nightly address to the nation.

“The conclusion is obvious: the recruitment system needs people who understand the value of Ukraine’s defense. Value, not the price of decisions,” he emphasized on August 3.

“Comats should be staffed by people who have seen the war and survived it. There are those who, unfortunately, lost their limbs, but did not lose their dignity and did not lose Ukraine. I am grateful to them,” the Ukrainian president said.

Ukrainian authorities were rocked by a corruption scandal earlier this year after the Ukrainian publication Zn revealed that Oleksiy Reznikov’s Defense Ministry was buying products for the army at prices two to three times higher than prices in Kyiv grocery stores.

As a result of the scandal, five regional governors and four deputy ministers were dismissed, but Reznikov was kept in office, as he was not guilty of inflated purchases.

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