Corruption as a harmful phenomenon

Ukrainians have changed significantly during the two years of war. We have acquired a more pragmatic approach to problems, we perceive them differently and recognize the need to solve them. The government has also changed and is forced to operate under martial law for almost two years in a row. However, to what extent are these changes synchronized? How can we improve collaboration and communication between all of us?

To understand the position in which Ukrainian society now finds itself, Transparency International Ukraine, with the support of the USAID Project “Supporting Leading Organizations in Anti-Corruption in Ukraine,” conducted a sociological study of the expectations and fears of Ukrainians in general and in the process of future recovery in particular.

This is our second such survey. In the previous one, held in March 2023, we paid a lot of attention to the issue of rebuilding the country. This time, it also remains in our focus, but the identified general moods of society, fears and its ability to act, which emerged at the end of 2023, became more important.

As the study showed, in general today society is somewhat exhausted, the things that worry Ukrainians have become more numerous, and this concern itself has intensified. Feelings of fatigue, disappointment and confusion about the future become more active. Does this mean that we will face increased internal tension and an inevitable negative scenario for the development of society? In our opinion, no.

It is the requests of citizens and the current diagnosis of public sentiment that are important for understanding specific recipes for overcoming fears and improving the quality of public dialogue and interaction. We tried to consider exactly how to do this in our material.

Problems are perceived more acutely, and the demand for their solution has increased

As in March, today Ukrainians consider war (96%), corruption (88%) and the destruction of infrastructure and housing (82%) to be the three main problems. But although the order of these problems has remained unchanged, their perception has noticeably increased. Moreover, fears of war and destruction in November decreased slightly compared to March (by 2%), but corruption risks now worry Ukrainians 11% more . In general, the data provided shows that almost every problem mentioned in the questionnaire worries the average Ukrainian 5–10% more than in March.

There are several reasons for this perception.  

1. Violation of the social contract on honest approaches and a common fight against external and internal enemies. After the start of a full-scale invasion, an unspoken social contract developed, according to which all forces - physical, financial, and mental - were directed to the fight against the Russian invaders, the common enemy, for some time they forgot about internal strife and, against the backdrop of external aggression, postponed work on already known internal problems. There was a feeling that all the schemes, corruption abuses, politicking and infighting remained in life until February 24, 2022. However, numerous facts of violation of this agreement (bribes, theft of humanitarian and procurement funds, political flirtations) violated this unspoken agreement and provoke indignation, anger and a request for public control.
2. Inflated expectations for 2023. Back in March, we were actively preparing for a successful (counter)offensive, coffee in Crimea until the end of summer, etc. But over the past six months, although there have been successes, they have not met the high expectations of Ukrainians. The feeling of optimism, unity, pride that we survived in 2022 and won significant victories on the battlefield is gradually moving towards disappointment due to what did not succeed in 2023.
3. Adaptation to life in war conditions. More than 70% of respondents now believe that the processes of economic recovery and country recovery will last up to 10 years or more. As scary as it is to admit, Ukrainians are gradually getting used to life during constant shelling and the sound of air raid alarms. Therefore, problems of economic life and well-being are increasingly coming to the fore: injustice in the justice system (71%), high cost of living and declining incomes (67%), lack of professionals in government (65), migration and departure of the working-age population (62%). Ukrainians feel the consequences of these problems in their daily lives and predict an even more serious impact in the future.

People have a high need for achievable victories - both over internal and external enemies. And one of the achievable ways to obtain them is the fight against corruption as the personification of everything dishonest, Soviet, callous, against which, in particular, the war continues.

Corruption has become an accessible enemy

If you look at the data on assessing the level of corruption and at the same time read our media, you get the impression that there are no positive practices in the fight against corruption at all, that public funds, in particular international assistance, are spent ineffectively, and respectable civil servants have completely disappeared. Although this is true and not true at the same time. Because the media are accustomed to looking at what is bad and not noticing what is already good.

The worst thing is that such not always verified theses are massively disseminated not only at the national level, but also in the international media, and they are actively picked up by Russian propaganda. And so, from all sides, Ukrainians hear that their country is totally corrupt, and in addition to the long war, this can create a feeling of hopelessness for many.

Why is this happening?

On the one hand, there are objective reasons - scandals, theft, cases of bribery and more and more new facts about corruption at different levels. Blatant cases of theft of even humanitarian aid, defense procurement, as well as many attempts to obtain extremely large bribes from senior officials this year quite rightly outraged society. Because what kind of fairness and justice can we even talk about if the Chairman of the Supreme Court of Ukraine Vsevolod Knyazev, consider an official on the same level as the president or prime minister, received a bribe of $2.7 million simply in his office?

On the other hand, we have positive results in the fight against corruption, which are recognized at the international level. Over the past year alone, the number of suspicions of corruption has increased significantly, which indicates the active work of NABU and SAPO. And increasingly, it is becoming possible to bring these cases thanks to whistleblowers. VAKS, for its part, makes verdicts in corruption cases, NAPC has finally returned all the functions prescribed for it in the law, although the agency still has other shortcomings in its work. In general, the viability of anti-corruption bodies has increased noticeably in recent years, as we described in a special study. These and other successes are reflected, in particular, in the report of the European Commission, which, taking into account our successes, recommended starting negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU.

And, as the data , Ukrainians now experience corruption directly in their personal experience much less frequently. Unfortunately, all this positive information is often lost in the whirlpool of negative news or is generally perceived as ordinary PR on the part of government agencies. Thus, despite the existing successes, the demand for an effective fight against corruption is growing.

For example, when it comes to future recovery, fear of potential corruption ranks highest on the list. 79% of Ukrainians are afraid of a lack of control and, as a result, theft of funds or the use of low-quality materials. And another 75% fear the return of corruption schemes for money laundering on large projects.

That is, according to the feelings of Ukrainians, corruption is an evil in itself, but against the backdrop of other concerns in the perception of citizens, it becomes the total personification of all the evil, injustice and problems that our country faces. So, against the backdrop of general fatigue, irritation and misunderstanding of the future, bribes and bizarre schemes from officials are becoming even more destructive for our country. Therefore, our common chance now is to use the fight against corruption as a springboard. For example, in the restoration we have already mentioned.

Recovery is a litmus test for state viability

Our research has shown that Ukrainians have their own expectations about how exactly the country's reconstruction after the war should proceed. There is an understanding that it is necessary to take into account the specifics of communities, as well as the request for decentralization of the distribution of funds, transparency of all stages and the involvement of citizens.

As for Ukrainians' expectations of future recovery processes, they have changed their vision of the period that future recovery can cover. If in March 60% of respondents believed that the recovery could last up to ten years or more, then in November this number increased to 73%. This indicator was primarily influenced by the pace and course of the war, but such a change in sentiment also indicates a readiness for a more balanced dialogue and approach to the very understanding of reconstruction. This generally highlights the rise of realism and pragmatism in public sentiment.

Also, the majority of respondents believe that people who have lost their homes need to build houses now (56%), restoration should be based on the principle of decentralization (72%), and its strategy needs to be prepared today - so as not to waste time (78%).

But the skepticism and increased fears that we generally saw in the study are also evident in attitudes toward recovery. The share of those who are confident that reconstruction plans should take into account the course of hostilities has increased significantly (from 11 to 20%).

If we talk about the general impression of existing examples of restoration, it is often positive. The current state of recovery meets or exceeds the expectations of 46% of Ukrainians, while 32% of respondents assess these processes negatively. Interestingly, the most positive perception of recovery is observed in the northern (50%) and eastern (52%) regions of Ukraine - that is, where people suffered significantly after the full-scale invasion.

Time also helps Ukrainians become more involved in the recovery and learn about how it can proceed. Our research showed that every third adult Ukrainian knows or has seen examples of what has already been built. And the vast majority (74%) are satisfied with the result.

As in March-April 2023, it is very important for the public to avoid corruption in such processes, and for this people need information to be as accessible as possible. Ukrainians consider control over the stages and quality of work (75%), over costs and information about performers (73%) to be extremely important and want to know about those responsible, although the importance of this indicator has decreased significantly - from 78 to 71%.

And here it is worth returning again to the main request of Ukrainians regarding restoration, namely, to prepare a comprehensive plan and strategy for such processes now. Moreover, in this matter, Ukrainians expect, first of all, the quality of results. Thus, 50% of respondents are sure that all contractors should be selected competitively, at the same time, 30% consider it necessary to provide certain advantages to Ukrainian business. Requirements for work performers have also increased, in particular in matters of compliance with international standards of quality control (63%), reputation (63%) and availability of relevant experience (55%). And, of course, Ukrainians want to have access to information about the level of compliance with such requirements.

In general, our research showed: Ukrainians understand that during martial law they can rely on the authorities mainly in matters of spot repairs or bringing dilapidated housing into a condition suitable for habitation. But they don’t really hope that they will be able to restore the lost level of comfort. At the same time, the full development of new residential areas seems more realistic to them after the war.

And although citizens most often evaluate the recovery program positively, they lack understanding of how it is being implemented. And it is the lack of such understanding that gives rise to mistrust.

Consequently, the future restoration has become a kind of field on which the state over the next years can maximally demonstrate its wealth, openness and high professional standards in the fight against corruption. But to do this, he needs to show a readiness for dialogue, establish effective communication and give Ukrainians a real opportunity to join these processes. Moreover, despite the war and sometimes disappointment, our citizens still have enough strength for such work.

There are resources to fight

Although the data presented may give the impression that many of our fellow citizens are apathetic and distrustful, this is not at all the case. The results of the second wave of the study confirmed that at the end of 2023, society will continue to demonstrate maturity and willingness to sacrifice its own interests for the needs of others.

For example, 17% of citizens indicated that their property was damaged by military operations. And only 32% of them applied for compensation and reimbursement.

Among those who did not file, 37% said the government had more pressing priorities for funding today, and another 12% believed there were people suffering much more. Isn't this the same unexpected act of support that signals a healthy society in the first place?

The general feeling of support among Ukrainians is also very high: 43% of respondents indicated that they received some help after the invasion began, and most of these people were in the east of the country - 88%.

If we talk about involvement in the restoration of the country, then 36% of respondents consider it their duty to take part in the discussion of restoration projects, and another 39% noted that, if possible, they would join such public discussions.

At the same time, Ukrainians are fully aware of the importance of assistance from international partners in order for our country to continue to hold on. Thus, 43% of Ukrainians note the significant contribution of international donors to the reconstruction process, and the most positive assessments are observed among young people, who are generally more aware of the possibilities of cooperation with the West and are most often involved in volunteer projects.

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As we see, society is completing the second year of a full-scale invasion in a rather difficult emotional state. We are observing an unstable foreign policy situation, a war of attrition continues at the front, and general stress, fatigue and the demand for justice are only intensifying.

Consequently, not being able to quickly expel the Russian aggressors from our land, we strive to fight the demons within the country, and the main demons for us today are corrupt officials. They are the personification of those injustices and evils that hurt the entire country. And since Ukraine has already done a lot in this area, victories here are quite achievable in the future. Is the government ready to take the necessary steps in the right direction? This is a topic for another study and conversation.

But it is important to remember that society has changed. The rhetoric of communication with him also needs to be changed: pragmatism, realism, effectiveness and dialogue - these are the key communication tasks of the authorities at all levels in interaction with the citizens of their country. And all this must take place under the condition of a real fight against corruption.

To prevent the current tension from turning negative, the Ukrainian authorities should respond to the request for specific communication, clear long-term plans and real involvement of citizens in all processes and, above all, in restoration, which can become a real window of opportunity for everyone. For almost two years, Ukrainians have already begun to feel that both the war and reconstruction will be delayed. But they are ready to fight in the future.

Whatever the public and our personal moods, each of us and the whole country together will need to overcome them. And the best way to do this is to turn our point of wobble into a point of support.