In Contrast to Russia’s Kid Glove Approach, Ukraine has Taken a Tough Line Not Only against Elite Corruption but Also Crimes by Veterans

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Dec. 9 – Ukraine differs from Russia in taking a hard line against not only elite corruption but also crimes by veterans. As a result, there are more court cases and convictions in Ukraine than in Russia, leading to media coverage in the West suggesting there is a bigger problem in the former rather than the latter, precisely what the Kremlin wants people to believe.

            But in fact, the reverse is true. The kid glove approach the Russian legal system has taken is only making the situation worse (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2025/11/russian-war-veterans-returning-home.html) while the much tougher position Kyiv has adopted suggests how much more progress it has made toward becoming a law-based country.

            The willingness of Kyiv to pursue criminal charges against veterans has been highlighted by a Novaya Gaeta Europe report showing that Ukrainian courts have secured 8,000 convictions of veterans and some serving military personnel “under ‘civilian’ articles,” with “about 7,000” of these involving veterans (novayagazeta.eu/articles/2025/12/09/vosem-tysiach-veteranov-voiny-v-ukraine-byli-osuzhdeny-po-ugolovnym-delam).

            The paper calculates that this figure means than approximately six percent of all Ukrainian veterans have been convicted of violating what it calls “civilian” laws, something that will go a long way to limiting the spread of crime back into society when veterans return and a marked contrast with what is happening in the Russian Federation.