The weaponization of corruption: Critical examination of challenging corrupt judicial practices in a Ukrainian context

This article contends that a significant lesson needs to be learned from this war, one that is eating away at the heart of the struggle, and one that suggests that every success, every innovation and every sacrifice that has been made has been weakened by an enemy within; the enemy that can be identified by the single word, corruption. The article outlines how the external enemies of Ukraine have sought to, and succeeded in, weaponizing the insidious perception that “Ukraine is a corrupt state”. Within this argument lies the unpalatable lack of understanding by those who perpetrate corrupt practice, usually, but not exclusively, in the mishandling of both internally created wealth and externally donated funds, that they are “only” lining their own pockets as a matter of greed, survival, or common criminality. Few seem to understand or are prepared to accept that by engaging in corrupt practices, they are de facto enemies of the state, and more dangerously than that, that they have become an essential and destructive weapon in the enemy’s arsenal. The exploitation of this enemy within by the illegal invader is more powerful and destructive to Ukraine in both the short and long term than missiles that kill and maim randomly, but to date have had limited strategic success in overcoming a brave and determined nation. Highlighting the serious effect on external support of those who engage in corrupt practice, together with the demoralizing effect on combat veterans, front-line soldiers, and families left behind, forms the core of this argument.