Media reports:

Zelenskyi’s agriculture minister implicated in corruption

Mykola Solskyj would be the first minister in Zelenskyj's cabinet to be involved in a corruption case.(Bild: Screenshot YouTube/Media Center Ukraine)

High-ranking officials and a deputy minister have already been arrested in the course of corruption investigations. Now an acting minister of President Volodymyr Zelenskyi is being targeted. 

According to media reports, Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyj is suspected of corruption. According to the information, land belonging to a state-owned company in the northern Ukrainian region of Sumy was transferred to new owners between 2017 and 2021. Solskyj's agricultural holding then received these for use. In addition to the minister, employees of the cadastral office are also suspected of corruption. The attempt to appropriate more than 3200 hectares was prevented.

Neither Solskyj nor his ministry have yet commented on the reports. He would be the first minister in Zelensky's cabinet to be named as a suspect in a corruption case. Recently, there has been increasing speculation about a government reshuffle.

"The country is stealing like there's no tomorrow"
Corruption is a widespread problem in Ukraine, as in many countries of the former Soviet Union, which is why there are repeated fears that aid money from the West is also seeping into opaque channels. Many citizens believe that the country's leadership is enriching itself with financial aid in the course of humanitarian support. The US magazine "Time" recently quoted a high-ranking official as saying: "The country is stealing like there's no tomorrow."