Ukraine Supreme Court Head Arrested For Corruption

The head of Ukraine’s Supreme Court has been arrested on corruption charges, according to new reports, adding to criticism of the country for being extremely corrupt.

Judge Vsevolod Kniaziev, who heads Ukraine’s Supreme Court, was detained by authorities on suspicions of corruption.

Kniaziev is just the latest to be targeted in an ongoing purge by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s administration — which has been arresting officials and banning political parties since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Zelenskyy previously used martial law to ban his political opposition party in a crackdown on division within the country, claiming it was necessary as part of the war effort.

“The activities of those politicians aimed at division or collusion will not succeed, but will receive a harsh response,” Zelenskyy is reported as saying according to Ukrajinska Pravda.

“Therefore, the National Security and Defence Council decided, given the full-scale war waged by Russia and the political ties that a number of political structures have with this state, to suspend any activities of a number of political parties during martial law,” his statement continued.

Meanwhile, The Guardian reports that anti-corruption authorities in Ukraine had detained Kniaziev on bribery-related charges.

Authorities claim that the Supreme Court head may have accepted up to $2.7 million in just one bribe.

“At this time, the head of the supreme court has been detained and measures are being taken to check other individuals for involvement in criminal activity,” said Ukrainian prosecutor Oleksandr Omelchenko, who listed Kniaziev not by his name but by his job description.

The National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has asserted that Kniaziev’s arrest proved that they were taking the corruption that plagues their country seriously, not allowing people at the highest levels of power to get away with corrupt acts without being held accountable.

“We are showing through real cases, real deeds, what our priority is: it’s top corruption, it’s criminal organizations at the highest levels of power,” NABU claimed.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy himself has been called out for being corrupt.

According to a report from the Post Millennial, “It has been reported that President Volodymyr Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials collectively embezzled hundreds of millions of dollars in American aid meant to go towards the purchase of diesel. Veteran journalist Seymour Hersh revealed that, according to sources familiar with the matter, the amount could be as high as $400 million.

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson previously detailed the corruption of Ukraine — calling out the Biden administration for blindly supporting Ukraine without acknowledging concerns about the fact that it is a “corrupt one-party state.”

“Ukraine is a democracy, we’re told, that’s why we’re on the side of Ukraine. The problem is, that is a lie. Ukraine is not a democracy, Ukraine is a corrupt one-party state. Ukraine has none of the freedoms that define democratic governance — freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion,” Carlson said.