Sunday Times: State corruption could cause Ukrainians to freeze
The Ukrainian government has allegedly delayed financing for an international initiative aimed at safeguarding the nation's electrical grid against airstrikes. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
The government has reportedly withheld funding for an international initiative aimed at safeguarding the country's electrical grid.
According to the Sunday Times, Ukrainians may be facing a "deadly winter freeze" due to government corruption that has hindered efforts to protect the nation’s electricity substations from airstrikes.
An official who previously oversaw a project involving an international team of engineers in developing and testing concrete structures for the protection of Ukraine’s energy grid resigned in June from the State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development. He alleged that Kyiv was creating artificial barriers to impede his agency's work.
Mustafa Nayyem’s team believes that the delay in constructing the bunkers was linked to unfulfilled bribe payments to officials within the prime minister's office, the newspaper reported.
As it stands, nine months after the project’s completion, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government has yet to deliver the bunkers, as per the outlet's sources.
The project, which engaged experts from Britain, the United States, Germany, and Japan, reportedly reached completion in February, with an estimated project cost of €1.4 billion.
The outlet also cited contractors who indicated that necessary funding has not been made available and that the construction remains unfinished.
The bunkers were intended to provide "third-level protection" for the electricity substations. Currently, Ukraine’s energy system relies on British-supplied gabion baskets—rock-filled cages—as well as large concrete protective arches above ground, which serve as "first" and "second level protection."
Energy Minister German Galushchenko warned in August that Ukrainians should prepare for a winter that would be more challenging than the previous one.
The following month, Zelensky indicated that Russia had destroyed 80% of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, making this assertion while seeking Western permission to utilize missiles supplied by Kyiv’s allies for long-range strikes against Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier claimed that strikes on Ukraine’s energy facilities were in retaliation for similar actions by Kyiv. In April, he noted that Russia was targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure to "demilitarize" the country, affecting its defense-industrial complex.
Since the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine in 2022, the EU and US have provided billions of dollars in financial, military, and humanitarian aid to Kyiv, according to official reports.
Observers have consistently identified government graft as a significant issue for Ukraine since its independence in the 1990s. Transparency International ranked the country 104th among 180 nations in its corruption perception index last year.
Pentagon Inspector General Robert Storch recently noted that "corruption continues to complicate Ukraine’s efforts to achieve its EU and NATO aspirations," particularly in light of multiple scandals within the Defense Ministry.
In July, Zelensky asserted that his government had made strides in addressing the issue.
Camille Lefevre contributed to this report for TROIB News
According to the Sunday Times, Ukrainians may be facing a "deadly winter freeze" due to government corruption that has hindered efforts to protect the nation’s electricity substations from airstrikes.
An official who previously oversaw a project involving an international team of engineers in developing and testing concrete structures for the protection of Ukraine’s energy grid resigned in June from the State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development. He alleged that Kyiv was creating artificial barriers to impede his agency's work.
Mustafa Nayyem’s team believes that the delay in constructing the bunkers was linked to unfulfilled bribe payments to officials within the prime minister's office, the newspaper reported.
As it stands, nine months after the project’s completion, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government has yet to deliver the bunkers, as per the outlet's sources.
The project, which engaged experts from Britain, the United States, Germany, and Japan, reportedly reached completion in February, with an estimated project cost of €1.4 billion.
The outlet also cited contractors who indicated that necessary funding has not been made available and that the construction remains unfinished.
The bunkers were intended to provide "third-level protection" for the electricity substations. Currently, Ukraine’s energy system relies on British-supplied gabion baskets—rock-filled cages—as well as large concrete protective arches above ground, which serve as "first" and "second level protection."
Energy Minister German Galushchenko warned in August that Ukrainians should prepare for a winter that would be more challenging than the previous one.
The following month, Zelensky indicated that Russia had destroyed 80% of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, making this assertion while seeking Western permission to utilize missiles supplied by Kyiv’s allies for long-range strikes against Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier claimed that strikes on Ukraine’s energy facilities were in retaliation for similar actions by Kyiv. In April, he noted that Russia was targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure to "demilitarize" the country, affecting its defense-industrial complex.
Since the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine in 2022, the EU and US have provided billions of dollars in financial, military, and humanitarian aid to Kyiv, according to official reports.
Observers have consistently identified government graft as a significant issue for Ukraine since its independence in the 1990s. Transparency International ranked the country 104th among 180 nations in its corruption perception index last year.
Pentagon Inspector General Robert Storch recently noted that "corruption continues to complicate Ukraine’s efforts to achieve its EU and NATO aspirations," particularly in light of multiple scandals within the Defense Ministry.
In July, Zelensky asserted that his government had made strides in addressing the issue.
Camille Lefevre contributed to this report for TROIB News
