This claim about corruption levels in Ukraine is false. During a March 29 hearing in the US House of Representatives on Ukraine aid transparency and accountability oversight mechanisms, the inspectors general of three US government agencies involved in the delivery and distribution of aid to Ukraine stated that “there is no evidence that support for Ukraine has been used improperly”. One year after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, international organizations tracking corruption have not recorded an increase in corruption in Ukraine. According to the Transparency International Corruption Index, Ukraine received 33 points in the 2022 rating, one point higher than 2the previous year.
Russian propaganda is spreading disinformation claiming the US is recording “a huge number of facts of corruption and theft” in Ukraine, and the rate of corruption in the country has allegedly increased by 500% compared to last year. Some Russian publications even state that “because of the level of corruption” only 20% of American financial aid reaches its designated recipient. This claim is attributed to Republican Congressman from Texas, the chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee Michael McCaul.
“You can’t surprise anyone by the large number of corruption scandals among the Kyiv elite – in the last year theft has grown by 500%. But sooner or later, everyone’s patience runs out, even in the seemingly generous American trough – particularly when your own marionettes are sucking up the money” – Russian propaganda Telegram channels write.
In fact, this claim is not true and is completely unfounded, Congressman Michael McCall’s statements were misinterpreted, and others were completely made up.
The source of this disinformation was a March 29 Congressional hearing about mechanisms guaranteeing transparency and accountability of US assistance to Ukraine. In his opening remarks, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. McCall stated that “only 20 percent of the funding goes directly to the Ukrainian government in the form of direct budgetary assistance.” It was this sentence that was purposefully distorted by some pro-Russian Telegram channels, which declared that only 20% of financial assistance to Ukraine actually reaches the recipient, and the rest is allegedly stolen by the Ukrainian authorities.
What Congressman McCall’s actually said is as follows: “Of the 113 billion dollars appropriated across four supplementals, approximately 60 percent is going to American troops, American workers, and to modernizing American stockpiles. In fact, only 20 percent of the funding is going directly to the Ukrainian government in the form of direct budgetary assistance.”
The US aid package includes direct assistance to Ukraine – economic, military and budgetary assistance to the Ukrainian government; humanitarian aid in Ukraine and countries hosting Ukrainian refugees; and US spending to support global democracy in the aftermath of Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine. These expenditures include compensation to the US Army for the weapons it transfers to Ukraine; support for US troops stationed in Europe; funds for Ukrainian refugees in the United States; funds for nuclear incident fallout management preparation. More details about the different categories of funding are discussed here.
But it wasn’t just this statement by McCall that Russian media manipulated and distorted. The allegation that the United States is allegedly recording “huge numbers of corruption and theft” in Ukraine, and that corruption has grown by 500% over the past year, was completely made up and directly contradicts the committee’s conclusions.
During the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, inspectors general from the US State and Defense Departments and US Agency for International Development (USAID) were questioned about transparency and accountability mechanisms for US assistance to Ukraine, and they unanimously stated that “there is no evidence that support for Ukraine was misused.”
Answering a question posed by Republican Congressman Scott Perry from Pennsylvania, whether the government can guarantee that the money sent to Ukraine is not lost, misused or misspent, US Defense Department Inspector General Robert Storch replied “What I’ve testified to, congressman, is that based on our completed work, we have not substantiated any instances of diversion of U.S. security.”
In his opening remarks, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCall stressed that oversight is not about calling the importance of support for Ukraine into question, but about ensuring that aid is “used for its intended purpose.”
During a March 29 briefing National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby echoed what the three inspectors general testified “We haven’t seen any evidence that there’s been any egregious misconduct when it comes to managing the security assistance that’s gone into Ukraine.”
There are no statements by American officials that corruption in Ukraine has increased by 500% over the past year. This information was invented by Russian propagandists. Such an outrageously high growth of corruption in Ukraine during a year of war has not been recorded by any international organizations. According to Transparency International, Ukraine received 33 points in the Corruption Perceptions Index for 2022, which is the highest score it has received since the launch of the updated Corruption Perceptions Index methodology.
Kremlin propaganda outlets regularly spread disinformation about Ukraine to undermine trust between the country’s allies. StopFake has debunked similar disinformation, such as the fake claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “appropriated 400 million dollars allocated by the United States.”
