The United States is allegedly more concerned about corruption in Ukraine than what officials have publicly admitted, as suggested by a leaked US strategy document.
The document considered a sensitive but unclassified version of the long-term US plan, lays out multiple steps Washington is taking to assist Kyiv in rooting out misconduct and otherwise reforming an array of Ukrainian sectors.
Corruption in Kyiv
The document stresses that corruption could cause Western allies to completely abandon their support for Ukraine's fight against Russia's invasion, noting that Kyiv cannot put off the anti-graft effort.
The confidential version of the document warns that perceptions of high-level corruption could undermine the Ukrainian public's and foreign leaders' confidence in the wartime government.
The statements are stronger than the analysis in the little-noticed public version of the 22-page document. This is the one that the State Department appears to have posted on its website with fanfare roughly a month ago, as per Politico.
The confidential version of the leaked document, "Integrated Country Strategy," is roughly three times as long and contains many more details about the US government's objective in Ukraine. These include privatizing its banks to help more schools teach English and to encourage Kyiv's military to adopt NATO protocols.
The silent release of the strategy and the fact that the toughest language was left in the confidential version of the document underscores the messaging challenge that the Biden administration is currently facing.
United States President Joe Biden's team wants to press Ukraine to cut graft, but being too open about the issue could encourage opponents of US aid to Ukraine. Many of these are Republican lawmakers trying to block further assistance to the war-torn country.
According to Yahoo News, one unnamed US official confirmed that the White House was also discussing with Kyiv the possibility of conditioning future economic assistance on reforms that could be taken against corruption.
Additional Aid for Ukraine
However, the official noted that such conditions were not being considered for defense aid needed to assist Ukraine in repelling Russia's continued aggression. The leaked document also calls for de-oligarchization of Ukraine's energy and mining sectors, privatization of banks, and extension of the US diplomatic presence.
The situation comes as foreign ministers from the European Union held a "historic" meeting in Kyiv to offer their support to Ukraine. It came days after US House Republicans blocked additional financial aid for the war-torn country.
Additionally, Ukraine's foreign minister said that Kyiv was working with Washington after Congress did not include new aid in a last-minute deal to avoid a potential government shutdown. Biden pledged that American support for Kyiv would continue as Moscow continued its invasion.
Concerns also mounted after Slovakia elected a pro-Russian figure following its election in what could become a challenge to NATO and EU unity in Ukraine. Furthermore, Russia has launched heavy shelling attacks at Kherson recently, resulting in the death of at least one person and the injury of eight others in the southern Ukrainian region, according to CNN.
