Even though the pressure on the eastern front remains huge, society and politics in Ukraine continue to function at high levels, and the fight against corruption is perceived as an essential component of resistance, says political analyst Armand Goșu.
„Politics in Ukraine has always been very intense, incomparably more intense than in Romania. There is a big battle there, with stakes, opposition, power, accusations against the current administration of Zelenski that it is not doing enough,” Goșu explained in an interview with Spotmedia.ro.
He emphasized that Ukrainian ministers and members of parliamentary committees "do not have dubious degrees, but diplomas from solid Western universities. They master very well two or three foreign languages and have read at least a few library shelves in their lifetime."
The analyst pointed out that for Ukrainians, there is no clear distinction between the fight against corruption and war.
"They do not make a very precise distinction between fighting corruption and war. From their point of view, fighting corruption is still part of the war. They fight not to belong to Russkii Mir. That is, the Russian world controlled by the Kremlin," said Goșu.
He explained that this involves not only military defense against the Russian offensive but also the "soft power" aspect, an internal aspect, to combat corruption. Because if you accept corruption as a given, you look like Russia. If you use judges, prosecutors for political purposes, to hit political opponents, you show what Putin looks like. Ukrainians fight precisely for this: not to look like Russia, to become part of Europe, they assume, metabolize European culture and civilization."
In Goșu's opinion, this perception explains why Ukrainian society closely monitors the government's actions, and the anti-corruption fight is considered a priority as important as military defense.
Armand Goșu teaches at the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Bucharest. He specializes in the history of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, being the author of several books about Vladimir Putin, as well as the war in Ukraine.