On October 22, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General, Andriy Kostin, resigned after failing to address a widespread scam involving thousands of Ukrainians, including prosecutors, who obtained fake disability statuses to evade military conscription and avoid being sent to the frontlines in the war against Russia.
In Ukraine, obtaining a fraudulent disability status through medical examination commissions not only exempts individuals from military service but also grants higher pensions and other social benefits.
While Kostin himself was not publicly accused of involvement in the corruption, the scandal has further eroded public trust, complicating efforts to recruit soldiers, according to The New York Times.
On the same day, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a decree to dismantle the corrupt medical commissions responsible for determining disability statuses by the end of the year, in a bid to restore the system’s credibility.
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) chief, Vasyl Malyuk, reported that around 4,000 fraudulent disability certificates had been revoked after an audit, and 64 state medical commissioners were issued “notes of suspicion,” marking the start of criminal proceedings, Politico reported.
The scandal hit a nerve in Ukraine, where corruption has long undermined public confidence, particularly in the military draft process. Following Kostin’s resignation, public outrage surged on social media.
One Ukrainian user expressed frustration, sharing how his father, who had genuine grounds for disability due to poor eyesight, was denied a certificate because he refused to pay a bribe. “Everyone laughed it off, saying there wouldn’t be enough disability benefits for the prosecutors,” the user remarked on X (formerly Twitter).
Another user criticized the misuse of resources, writing: “Absurd billions (in loans) are being spent on maintaining a huge pack of prosecutors with disabilities, embezzling officials, sabotaging judges, degenerate deputies, and other harmful ‘pseudo-elite.’ How can this suicidal process for the country be stopped? The question is rhetorical.”
