State corruption may leave Ukrainians freezing – Sunday Times

Ukrainians may be facing a “deadly winter freeze” because alleged corruption in the government has stalled work aimed at protecting the country’s electricity substations from airstrikes, the Sunday Times has reported. The Ukrainian leadership previously accused Russia of destroying 80% of the country’s energy infrastructure. Moscow has stated that it only targets facilities that supply defense manufacturing.

A team of British, American, German, and Japanese engineers developed and tested concrete structures that would protect Ukraine’s energy grid from Russian strikes, the Sunday Times wrote on Saturday, citing sources. The work was reportedly finished in February, with the estimated cost of the project standing at €1.4 billion ($1.47 billion).

Nine months later, however, Vladimir Zelensky’s government has not delivered the bunkers, the Sunday Times wrote.

The official who oversaw the project, Mustafa Nayyem of the State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development, resigned in June, claiming that Kiev was creating artificial obstacles for his agency’s operations. 

According to the newspaper, Nayyem’s team suspects that the construction of the bunkers was delayed because bribes were not paid to officials in the prime minister’s office.

The outlet also quoted contractors as saying that the necessary funding has not been provided and that the structures are far from complete.

The bunkers would have provided “third-level protection” for the electricity substations. Ukraine’s energy system is currently relying on British-supplied gabion baskets, or rock-filled cages, and on large concrete protective arches above ground as “first” and “second level protection.”

Ukrainians must prepare for a winter that will be more difficult than the last, Energy Minister German Galushchenko warned in August.

The following month, Zelensky claimed that Russia destroyed 80% of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. He made the statement while seeking the West’s permission to use missiles provided by Kiev’s allies for long-range strikes into Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier said that strikes on Ukraine’s energy facilities are in retaliation for similar attacks from Kiev. In April, Putin also stated that Russia targets Ukraine’s energy infrastructure to “demilitarize” the country, as the strikes affect its defense-industrial complex. 

Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, the EU and US have provided tens of billions of dollars in financial, military, and humanitarian assistance to Kiev, according to official data.

Government graft has been consistently named by observers as a major problem for Ukraine since it gained independence in the 1990s. Last year, Transparency International ranked it 104th among 180 nations in its corruption perception index.

Pentagon Inspector General Robert Storch reported earlier this month that “corruption continues to complicate Ukraine’s efforts to achieve its EU and NATO aspirations,” particularly due to multiple scandals in the Defense Ministry. 

Zelensky claimed in July that his government had made progress in tackling the problem.