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Towards the end of January, a series of corruption scandals rocked Ukraine, involving prominent individuals such as Viacheslav Shapoval, a former Deputy Defense Minister suspected of lobbying inflated contracts for military supplies; Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, the ex-acting director of the Department of Public Procurement and Supply of Material Resources at the Ministry of Defense, accused of embezzlement and procurement of substandard bulletproof vests; and Kostiantyn Sliusar, a current Defense Ministry official, notified of suspicion of fund misappropriation and forgery. These incidents followed in the wake of investigative journalism, most notably Yuriy Nikolov’s reporting in Dzerkalo Tyzhnia. Amidst this backdrop of scandal and controversy, the Russian propaganda machine churned out messaging that portrayed Ukraine as one of the world’s most corrupt nations, accusing its government of capitalizing on the ongoing conflict and insinuating that financial gain and corrupt schemes were fueling the continuation of the hostilities. Further, the propaganda sought to instill fear by suggesting that Ukraine’s Western allies were on the verge of withholding military aid due to the country’s perceived lack of accountability and transparency.
The issue of corruption in Ukraine has been a recurring theme for Russian propagandists, with stories about the country’s purportedly widespread corruption and imminent downfall being peddled in Russian media for over a decade. As such, the topic of Ukraine’s corruption has become one of the most frequently deployed narratives in Russian propaganda.
Employing an array of tactics and tools, propagandists go to great lengths to disseminate disinformation and sow discord, with a particular emphasis on propagating the idea that Ukraine is the most corrupt state in Europe. In this article, we delve into the methods utilized by these propagandists to manipulate the topic of corruption in Ukraine, offering insights into their motivations and objectives.
How Russian propagandists manipulate the topic of corruption in Ukraine
The Russian media and anonymous Telegram channels that espouse pro-Russian sentiment have seized upon recent news of a spate of resignations and corruption scandals in Ukraine. However, irrespective of the events unfolding in Kyiv, Russia has been leveraging these scandals to undermine the credibility of Ukraine. Russian propaganda has been asserting that corruption is entrenched in the psyche of the Ukrainian people, permeating every aspect of their society. The message being pushed is that corruption is omnipresent in Ukrainian life, from education, healthcare, and public services to sports, law enforcement, the judiciary, and all levels of government, both local and national.
Russian propagandists contend that despite its efforts to tackle corruption since the early 2000s, Ukraine has failed to make significant headway in this regard, especially after the Euromaidan movement of 2014. In the propaganda machine’s view, Ukraine has regressed to the level of Latin American countries ruled by a corrupt kleptocracy. Though Ukraine did establish several anti-corruption bodies post-2014, these developments were met with skepticism by propaganda sources who claimed that Ukrainians were simply copying the American model, even appointing a foreigner as the deputy head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. Propagandists often cite former US Ambassador to Ukraine, Jeffrey Payette, who likened corruption to a greater threat than Russian tanks. They also speculate on the words of then-Vice President Joe Biden, who referred to corruption in Ukraine as cancer. According to Russian propaganda, Western societies have grown increasingly disillusioned with Ukrainian corruption, and it is merely a matter of time before support for Ukraine from these countries evaporates entirely.
The incessant focus on the corrupt practices of Ukrainian authorities engenders a pervasive sense of mistrust in the country’s leadership and institutions, which in turn undermines confidence in the effectiveness of anti-corruption measures in advancing the nation’s bid for EU and NATO membership. Russian propaganda simultaneously targets both domestic and foreign audiences, painting a picture of Ukraine as inept and destined to be abandoned by the West due to the supposed failures of democracy and European integration. Russian propaganda also seeks to sow a sense of hopelessness among Ukrainians, portraying the country’s government as irredeemably corrupt and its prospects for progress and EU/NATO membership as non-existent.
When it comes to discussing corruption in Ukraine and its purportedly bleak future, Russian propaganda consistently fails to acknowledge the corruption rampant in Russia. For instance, between January and July of 2021, 24,500 cases of corruption were documented in Russia. In 2017, the chairman of the Russian Accounts Chamber, Alexei Kudrin, uncovered violations worth a staggering 1.865 trillion rubles. This underscores the fact that corruption exists in Russia, and efforts are underway to combat it. Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, for example, drew the ire of the Kremlin by revealing numerous instances of corruption by those in power and was subsequently imprisoned. Despite this, the propaganda machine refrains from mentioning any of this, nor does it acknowledge that Ukraine is trying to combat corruption even in the midst of a full-scale war.
What tactics does Russia use to promote the narrative of Ukraine as the most corrupt state in Europe?
Russia employs a consistent set of tactics and tools to disseminate these disinformation messages, including the use of the following techniques:
1. Discrediting - This involves damaging the credibility and legitimacy of individuals or institutions through various means, such as unfounded accusations, ridicule, downplaying successes, labeling, and using negative metaphors.
For instance, Russia seeks to depict Ukraine as a “near abroad” state with a political culture similar to Russia, replete with the same political flaws, including corruption. Propaganda messages such as “Ukraine is a deeply corrupt country, with politicians susceptible to bribes, weapons smuggling, and human trafficking, making it more like Russia than Western Europe” are commonly circulated on platforms such as Inosmi.ru.
Russia is also exerting considerable effort to perpetuate Ukraine’s reputation as “the most corrupt country in Europe” and to underscore the idea that Ukraine’s anti-corruption policy is merely an imitation of pro-Western reforms. According to their rhetoric, Ukraine’s current state is not improving but rather deteriorating. Reports about the transfer of weapons from allied nations to Ukraine serve as a pretext for manipulation on this subject. Specifically, anonymous Telegram channels, which promote pro-Russian views and are operated by Russian intelligence, propagate the notion that the Ukrainian government is lying about the allocation of Western weapons amongst its military units and is, furthermore, profiting from the sale of these weapons. Detector Media researchers have likewise encountered this propaganda while examining Russian disinformation campaigns across the media landscapes of Eastern European countries.
Furthermore, propagandists are attempting to mock the European integration reforms and anti-corruption bodies, which they claim were concocted by “Western compradors.” According to them, such reforms hold little value. For instance, Ukraine’s reforms mandated as part of the preconditions for joining the EU and NATO are regarded as forms of external influence: “The Ukrainian people have already weighed in on these Soros-funded reforms and their aftermath! 65% of the populace is in agreement with the notion that Ukraine is being controlled externally!”
In 2017, Putin himself depicted Ukraine’s anti-corruption policy in the following terms: “Merely shouting ‘Catch the thief!’ is insufficient. We must also refrain from engaging in theft ourselves.” In essence, propaganda portrays Ukraine’s struggle against corruption as empty talk that does not translate into tangible actions aimed at addressing the issue. To explain this ineffectiveness, propagandists have invoked the views of the pro-Russian former Prime Minister of Ukraine, Mykola Azarov, who asserted that “Maidan technologies are based on an unstable social system” and hence are ineffective within Ukrainian society. Propagandists use the term “Maidan technologies” pejoratively to dismiss the Euromaidan protests and undermine their accomplishments.
Through their strategies aimed at discrediting the efforts to combat corruption in Ukraine, the Kremlin is seeking to showcase that Ukraine is a failed state that lacks the ability to resolve its own issues.
2. Hyperbolization involves giving undue importance to a specific phenomenon or event that lacks such inherent significance within a given context. Implementation techniques utilized to achieve this effect may include inflating, accentuating negative factors or consequences, invoking fatalistic attitudes, or using sarcasm.
The objective here is to persuade the Russian audience that the West has either already abandoned or is on the verge of abandoning Ukraine. The corruption scandals, in particular, stoke Russia’s belief that the West will halt its assistance to Ukraine, which includes financial, humanitarian, and military support. As per this narrative, Ukraine will inevitably collapse if it does not receive the billions of dollars required to keep its economy functioning.
Nonetheless, the corruption scandals, which often involve searches, arrests, and legal proceedings, demonstrate that the fight against corruption is ongoing, and Ukraine is making progress toward overcoming the issue. In a stable democracy, the occurrence of a corruption scandal does not signify that the state has ceased to be democratic; rather, the efficacy and sustainability of anti-corruption institutions are the key factors at play. “…The intensification of accusations of corruption of Zelenskyy’s circle. Today, auditors from the United States arrived in Kyiv. They will investigate the embezzlement of American aid, and they will uncover it. Zelenskyy’s authority is gradually eroding. The cases against journalists or monastery abbots are attempts to divert attention from the fact that billions of funds have been patriotically embezzled,” stated one of the Telegram channels that disseminate pro-Russian views.
The aim of hyperbole is to elicit negative emotions, such as fear, uncertainty, and apprehension about potential catastrophic events. In essence, it employs an appeal to emotions rather than logical or rational argumentation. It involves speculating about the future, which cannot be substantiated or proven and is, therefore tantamount to conjecture.
The act of gross exaggeration of the magnitude and consequences of a situation is designed to intimidate the target audience of the propaganda. Initially, the propagandist highlights a specific fact that elicits negative emotions, such as anger, mistrust, or the desire for revenge, among others. Then, they opt for pessimistic and unlikely scenarios and construct a chain of the most fatalistic and catastrophic consequences. By utilizing this tactic, propaganda distorts reality to the point of absurdity: even a minor negative event must inevitably culminate in a catastrophic outcome of universal proportions.
3. False interpretation refers to the act of comparing events that are unrelated and assigning arbitrary meanings to them. Put differently, it involves reaching an erroneous conclusion from genuine premises by distorting the facts, presenting unsubstantiated arguments, and attempting to mold them into a favorable interpretation.
This strategy is exemplified by the following message: The West asserts that both corruption itself and the efforts to combat corruption (such as staff changes and investigations) undermine Ukraine’s credibility. “Bribery and theft at the highest echelons of power are now officially recognized in the West. Kyiv has been coerced into dismissing officials and pressing charges by their primary ally, Washington. The United States aims to identify corrupt Ukrainian officials directly by publicizing information about corruption and has established a dedicated hotline for this purpose,” states an article by the Russian news outlet mk.ru. However, in reality, Washington has not provided any evidence of the misuse of Western funds. US State Department spokesman Ned Price has committed to stringent monitoring to ensure that American assistance is not misappropriated.
Russian propaganda also asserts that President Zelenskyy has a feud with Commander-in-Chief Zaluzhnyi. As such, the current corruption scandal has transformed into a power struggle between the Office of the President of Ukraine and the military leadership. “Zelenskyy and his team have a strained relationship with Zaluzhnyi and have been striving to replace him with their own man, General Syrskyi, for quite some time. These rumors were confirmed by MP Bezuhla, who directed her righteous anger at the Armed Forces Command,” according to an article by the Russian media outlet kp.ru. It is a known fact that the Ministry of Defense is responsible for the procurement of weapons and military supplies, while the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and the General Staff are tasked with planning and executing military operations. In other words, there is no correlation between the published suspicions of corruption, the unfounded accusations against General Zaluzhnyi, and the alleged plot against him.
Through this tactic, propagandists aim to convince their audience that there are “subtle” connections between facts that are unrelated to one another. For instance, the fact that storks arrive in the spring and babies are born in the spring does not imply that storks deliver the babies. Russian propaganda attempts to persuade the reader to believe that a significant relationship exists between unrelated phenomena.
4. Conspiracy theories involve interpreting any event from the perspective of a plot engineered by a powerful group of individuals (the political elite), typically one that is secretive in nature, with undisclosed means of operation and levers of influence. The implementation technique lies in attributing the outcomes of real events to fictitious groups that are purportedly working in collusion with one another.
One of the key messages of the “corruption” narrative is that the West benefits from corruption in Ukraine, profits immensely from it, and will safeguard the country as a business venture. For instance, an article by the Russian Federal News Agency posits: “Ukraine offers the ruling elite in the United States a remarkable opportunity to misappropriate American taxpayer funds, which are disbursed in the form of financial or military assistance.” According to propagandists, the “scheme” works as follows: The United States loans money to its corrupt associates, who then pass on the debt to the public, and the associates, in turn, channel the same funds to their American collaborators through offshore accounts. Nevertheless, there is no substantial evidence to substantiate this assertion.
The Institute of CIS Countries, a Russian organization involved in anti-Ukrainian propaganda, expressed a comparable viewpoint: “Corruption is a tool used by the West to regulate third-world countries. Without corruption, thievery, and deceitful individuals, how would the West implement its policies?” Reportedly, the US, in league with financier George Soros has established puppet anti-corruption agencies to amass incriminating evidence on Ukrainian politicians and businesspeople and maintain a hold on them. However, in actuality, state anti-corruption agencies are a customary feature of any contemporary state, and even Russia has its own anti-corruption agencies.
Another instance of a conspiracy theory is the notion that Ukraine serves as a battleground between Republicans and Democrats in the United States, and Kyiv’s opinions are not being respected. As per this theory, Ukraine is not an independent player in geopolitics and does not make any decisions since it is under the control of “Western overseers.” This is a recurring theme in Russian propaganda, which has a propensity for detecting signs of contention between US political parties in everything and undervaluing Ukraine’s agency. For example, an article by vm.ru alleges, “Republicans in the United States have created a commission to investigate cases of corruption in Ukraine – they suspect the current leader, Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter Biden, of being involved in this corrupt mechanism.” American politicians already have ample space to compete on the domestic political chessboard, and there are sufficient legal mechanisms for rivalry in a way that does not involve Ukraine.
Through the use of conspiracy theories, propagandists are once again endeavoring to strip Ukraine of its agency, erode its geopolitical significance, and minimize its value as an international partner. In this manner, the Kremlin is striving to depict Ukraine as a bargaining chip, a disputed territory between the West and the East, NATO and Russia. Propaganda intends to instill a sense of hopelessness and insignificance among Ukrainians. It aims to create the impression that Ukrainians are a people devoid of any influence: all decisions are made by global elites and groups of conspirators, and nothing can alter the course of events.
What is the actual situation with corruption in Ukraine?
Ukraine ranked 116th among 180 nations in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index for 2022. The index draws on research by 13 respected international organizations and think tanks, focusing solely on public sector corruption. The central indicator in the index is points rather than ranking. It measures perceptions rather than actual corruption levels. Ukraine received a score of 33 out of 100 (where 100 signifies nearly zero corruption), marking its best performance in the last decade. At the conclusion of the year, Ukraine was named among the 25 countries that had made significant strides in combating corruption.
In the past, corruption in Ukraine was more entrenched, and the fight against it was intermittent. However, the situation is now reversed. Transparency International’s 2021 report stated that Ukraine was the second-most corrupt nation in Europe after Russia. The report underscored that Ukraine needed to institute significant systemic changes to its anti-corruption policy. While the organization acknowledged some of the measures taken by President Zelenskyy’s team in recent years as successful, it declared in 2021 that the fight against corruption in Ukraine had reached a “dead end.”
Last year, Ukraine officially became an EU candidate country. Brussels has made it clear that Kyiv will need to step up its fight against corruption if it wants to become a full-fledged EU member. Despite systematic efforts by Russian propaganda to discredit Ukraine’s anti-corruption policy, we have seen a positive trend in the Corruption Perceptions Index rating over the past ten years (+8 points). Ukraine is gradually introducing important systemic changes, although faster progress is possible. By taking action to clean up corrupt officials from the system, the government is fostering confidence within the country and among its American and European partners. Transparency International Ukraine’s legal advisor, Oleksandr Kalitenko, has noted that Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has restricted public scrutiny and access to registers, adversely affecting the corruption perception index. However, the dynamics of the past year confirm that zero tolerance for corruption is gaining ground in Ukraine, and civil society is resolute in not allowing a setback in this area. The next steps in the fight against corruption include reinstating party accountability, finalizing competitions for top positions in anti-corruption agencies, reforming the Constitutional Court, and augmenting open data and procurement monitoring.
