François Picard is pleased to welcome Daria Kaleniuk, Executive Director of the Anti-corruption Action Centre. She presents a striking argument that Ukraine’s wartime challenge is no longer only military, but institutional. Ms. Kaleniuk contends that battlefield success and democratic resilience are inseparable from deep reform of the defence establishment. While welcoming President Zelensky’s replacement of the commander-in-chief with a younger, reform-oriented military leader, she argues that this represents only “half” of the necessary changes. The more consequential battle, in her view, concerns governance: rooting out entrenched corruption, safeguarding competitive procurement, preserving civilian oversight, and ensuring that reform-minded officials are empowered rather than removed.
‘Mykhailo Fedorov was fired for his successes in fighting corruption in the defense sector’
