Five Ukrainian officials have been arrested for allegedly stealing nearly $40 million in funds meant to aid the country in its war against Russia.
Ukraine’s SBU security service shared the news of the arrest on Saturday, as members of the defense ministry were accused of conspiring with a Ukrainian arms firm to embezzle the funds that were meant to purchase the Ukrainian army 100,000 mortar shells, The Guardian reported.
Now, the five individuals are facing maximum sentences of 12 years in prison if they are found guilty.
The country’s prosecutor general shared that the $39.6 million has since been returned to the defense budget.
According to the SBU, the defense officials were organizing the payments to Lviv Arsenal, a defense contract firm, but they never arrived, instead going to accounts belonging to the defense officials and members of the firm.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ran his campaign for the presidency on an anti-graft platform, calling for corruption in the country to be snuffed out.
The accusations couldn’t come at a worse time for the country, as support for funding the nation’s war has faltered in the U.S. in recent months.
The war has had a negative effect on not only Ukraine but also Russia, which appears to be running out of money to fund its invasion.
Earlier this month, Russia’s parliament introduced legislation that would allow the state the power to seize the property of those who are convicted of defamation of the armed forces or who are publicly calling for actions that would undermine Russia’s security, Bloomberg reported.
This would allow the country access to funds that it can in its efforts to bolster the invasion into the country. The legislation will affect not only those in the country but also those who have left, allowing the government to seize the assets they still have in Russia.
Next month will mark the second anniversary of the war and the start of the third year of fighting. As things stand, there is no end in sight.