New York Times: Ukraine Is Weakened by Corruption, So How Is It Stymying the Russians?
Oct. 10, 2022

By Peter Coy, Opinion Writer

Corruption undermines society as surely as termites undermine houses. Ukraine suffers from corruption. So how has Ukrainian society nonetheless managed to stymie a Russian invasion, and even turn the tables on its invaders?

I asked experts inside and outside Ukraine for their answers to this pivotal question and heard several interesting theories. The most intriguing is that it’s possible in certain situations to be simultaneously corrupt and patriotic.

Here are some of the explanations:

Ukraine is corrupt, but the enemy is even more corrupt. On Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, Ukraine was 122nd of 180 countries last year (higher numbers are worse). Pretty bad, but Russia was ranked even worse, at 136th.
[NOTE: This Index is useful, but hardly perfect. The USA was rated as #27, which in my view is much too favorable, as it neglects entire categories of vast corruption, in domestic U. S. politics and foreign/military operations, which are technically “legal” but as rotten as can be.]
In  May the U.S. State Department said, “While it may be too early to draw definitive conclusions, we have seen open-source reporting about expired rations, lack of fuel and outdated and poorly maintained equipment that point to the waste, misuse and abuse of ‘public’ resources designated for Russia’s military.” Continue reading Ukraine & Corruption: A Major, Mostly Unmentioned Issue →