Senior Ukrainian officials resign amid corruption crackdown

The deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office quit Tuesday, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pledged to launch a staff shake-up amid high-level corruption

allegations during the war with Russia. Kyrylo Tymoshenko asked to be relieved of his duties, according to an online copy of a decree signed by Zelenskyy and Tymoshenko’s

own social media posts. Neither gave a reason for the resignation. Deputy Defense Minister Viacheslav Shapovalov also resigned, local media reported, alleging his

departure was linked to a scandal involving the purchase of food for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Deputy Prosecutor General Oleksiy Symonenko also quit. Tymoshenko

joined the presidential office in 2019, after working on Zelenskyy’s media and creative content strategy during his presidential campaign. Zelenskyy had promised personnel

changes in the government, regional administrations and security forces following corruption allegations that emerged after Russia’s invasion last February. Tymoshenko last

year was under investigation relating to his personal use of luxury cars. He was also among officials linked last September to the embezzlement of humanitarian aid worth more than

$7 million earmarked for the southern Zaporizhzhia region. He has denied all the allegations. Zelenskyy vowed to drive out corrupt officials in comments on Sunday,

when a deputy minister was dismissed for being part of a network embezzling budget funds. Ukraine’s infrastructure ministry later identified the dismissed official as Vasyl

Lozynsky, a deputy minister there.