Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Progress Defies Wartime Norms, Say Experts at LMF
At the Lviv Media Forum, one of the largest media conferences in Central and Eastern Europe, The Gaze reports that the panelists at the session “Communicating Corruption: A Problem to Solve or a Weapon to Wield?” raised alarms about how anti-corruption narratives are being manipulated to undermine Ukraine’s global standing—particularly by Russian disinformation networks.
Illina Bet-El, a senior strategist in political risk and former UN peacekeeper, stressed that “in 2023, corruption was instrumentalized—especially in the U.S.—to hold up aid bills for Ukraine in Congress.”
She cited that up to 60% of data about corruption in Ukraine could be disinformation, much of it originating from Russia and funneled through African media environments before landing in the U.S. and Europe.
“Russia has consistently used the narrative that Ukraine is too corrupt to govern itself since 1991,” Bet-El explained. “It was of no use for Russians to maintain an anti-Ukraine X (formerly Twitter) feed in Washington—they realized it was bad news. Instead, they put out all this information through the X feed of their embassy in South Africa. Then the Tucker Carlsons, the Joe Rogans, and other right-wing influencers in the U.S. amplified it.”
Bet-El emphasized that information warfare is a core element of Russia’s military doctrine—as critical as weapons or troops. She warned that Western audiences are often unaware they are being manipulated through layered narratives that play on real concerns.
Andrii Borovyk, executive director of Transparency International Ukraine, echoed the importance of reframing the discussion. “Despite the fact that the main idea is to fight corruption, I have to say we can only limit it—we cannot eliminate it fully. That’s true for every country,” he said.
Borovyk urged media and policymakers to shift from broad generalizations like “Ukraine is corrupt” to a more accurate framing: “Ukraine is fighting corruption.”
“What makes Ukraine unique,” he added, “is that there is no other country in the world that, while at war, became a candidate for EU membership. Usually, countries in a state of war fall in the Corruption Perception Index due to closed information and lack of oversight. But Ukraine has moved up in the index over the last three years and remains at a decent level.”
Both speakers emphasized that acknowledging Ukraine’s anti-corruption progress is not only fair but essential to countering a weaponized narrative designed to weaken the country’s support abroad.
Read more on The Gaze: Analyst Zarembo at LMF: Ukraine Can Be Invincible Even Without US Support