Ukraine - May 2023

Conflicting statements by senior government ministers on whether Ukrainians in Russian-occupied territory should accede to efforts to force them to accept Russian passports has heightened debate about legal punishment of collaboration with occupying authorities. The Verkhovna Rada has been considering a bill outlawing collaboration since March 2022, and to date 5,550 individuals have been investigated on charges related to collaboration, resulting in 272 convictions and zero acquittals. Human rights advocates argue the term remains legally undefined, and that the line between activities that constitute active collaboration and those that are necessary for surviving the occupation is difficult to clearly define. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians in occupied Ukraine could be found guilty of collaboration under statutes as they are currently being interpreted by courts, and human rights advocates and lawyers have suggested alternative approaches, such as amnesty.

Note: Russia’s war on Ukraine directly implicates the Russian government in nearly all aspects of Ukrainian life and the performance of its political and democratic institutions. Any decline in Ukraine’s democratic attributes associated with the reported events does not necessarily, and in many cases, in no way indicates responsibility of the Ukrainian government or its people.

Sources: Ukrainska Pravda, Zmina

President of the Supreme Court of Ukraine, Vsevolod Kniaziev was arrested on charges of corruption on 18 May and is suspected of taking a USD 2.7 million bribe in exchange for issuing a favorable decision. Kniaziev was arrested together with a lawyer, Oleh Horetsky, who allegedly arranged the bribe on behalf of Kostyantyn Zhevago, a billionaire and former member of the Ukrainian parliament. The high-profile arrest is taken by observers as symbolic of both Ukraine’s heightened wartime anti-corruption drive and the deep roots of corruption at the country’s highest levels. Odesa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov, who has been suspected of ties and active participation in organized crime, was also detained and released on bail on 4 May on charges of embezzling USD 2.5 million from the city budget.

Sources: Ukrainska Pravda (1), Ukrainska Pravda (2), Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project