Ukraine breaks up ‘corruption scheme’ in defence sector; Slovenia bans weapons trade with Israel
by AFP Staff Writers
Kyiv, Ukraine (AFP) Aug 2, 2025
Ukrainian authorities said Saturday that they had arrested several politicians in connection with a “large-scale corruption scheme” in the defence sector, shortly after an uproar over the independence of anti-graft bodies.
A law passed at the end of July stripped the National Anti-Corruption Agency (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) of their independence and placed them under the supervision of the Prosecutor General, himself appointed by the head of state.
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday backtracked and restored the bodies’ independence following an outcry from the country’s allies and the first anti-government street demonstrations since the Russian invasion in 2022.
The NABU said on Saturday that it and the SAP had exposed “a scheme for the systematic misappropriation of budget funds allocated by local authorities for the needs of the defence forces, as well as the receipt and provision of unlawful benefits on an especially large scale”.
It said the scheme involved inflating prices for electronic warfare and drone equipment, and then funnelling off 30 percent of the contract amounts.
The suspects include a member of parliament, heads of district and city administrations, members of the National Guard, and executives at defence companies.
The NABU said it has made four arrests so far but did not identify those detained.
The interior ministry said it had suspended the suspected members of the National Guard.
Zelensky said in a statement: “I am grateful to the anti-corruption agencies for their work.
“It is important that anti-corruption institutions operate independently, and the law passed on Thursday guarantees them all the tools necessary for a real fight against corruption.”
The president initially said he needed to bring the NABU and the SAP under his control because they were inefficient and under “Russian influence”. But he did an about-face when confronted with the outcry — first serious political crisis since he took office six years ago.
Several cases of corruption — an endemic problem in the country — have been exposed within the armed forces and the defence ministry during the war with Russia.
Slovenia says will ban weapons trade with Israel over Gaza conflict
Ljubljana (AFP) July 31, 2025 -
Slovenia said Thursday that it will ban all weapons trade with Israel over the war in Gaza, in what it said is a first by an EU nation.
Slovenia’s government has frequently criticised Israel over the conflict, and last year moved to recognise a Palestinian state as part of efforts to end the fighting in Gaza as soon as possible.
“Slovenia is the first European country to ban the import, export and transit of weapons to and from Israel,” the government said in a statement late Thursday.
It said it was moving ahead “independently” because the bloc was “unable to adopt concrete measures… due to internal disagreements and disunity”.
Amid the devastating war in Gaza, where “people… are dying because humanitarian aid is systematically denied them”, it was the “duty of every responsible state to take action, even if it means taking a step ahead of others”, the statement said.
It added that the government had not issued any permits for the export of military weapons and equipment to Israel since October 2023 because of the conflict.
Early in July, Slovenia — also in a EU first — banned two far-right Israeli ministers from entering the country.
It declared both Israelis “persona non grata”, accusing them of inciting “extreme violence and serious violations of the human rights of Palestinians” with “their genocidal statements”.
In June 2024, Slovenia’s parliament passed a decree recognising Palestinian statehood, following in the steps of Ireland, Norway and Spain, in moves partly fuelled by condemnation of Israel’s bombing of Gaza after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel.
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