On February 10, 2026, Transparency International published the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2025—an annual ranking of perceptions of corruption in the public sector. In the new release, Ukraine received 36 points out of 100 and ranked 104th out of 182 countries and territories.
Ukraine’s score increased by 1 point compared to the previous edition of the index. In CPI 2024, Ukraine had 35 points and ranked 105th (that edition assessed 180 countries and territories).
The TI report notes that Ukraine belongs to the group of countries that are gradually “moving from the bottom of the ranking toward the middle” thanks to long-term efforts to build an anti-corruption infrastructure. At the same time, the document describes 2025 as difficult for Ukraine—against the backdrop of high-profile scandals in procurement and the defense sector, but with an important emphasis: the exposure of violations and bringing cases to verdicts indicates that the new anti-corruption architecture “is delivering results.”
Overall, CPI 2025 records a further deterioration of the global picture: the world average score fell to 42 points, and more than two thirds of countries scored below 50 points. Denmark once again received the highest score (89), and at the bottom of the list are Somalia and South Sudan (9 each).
The CPI measures not “actual corruption,” but perceptions of the level of corruption in the public sector, aggregating data from expert assessments and business surveys on a 0–100 scale.
Corruption in the energy sector is systemic and long-standing. Since 2022, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) have been investigating five high-profile cases in the energy sector, according to anti-corruption authorities.
On Tuesday, NABU and SAP posted an infographic on criminal cases in the energy sector on their Telegram channel, which, in particular, highlights the Energoatom case with losses to the state of UAH 100 million, which is currently being considered in court, and the Ukrenergo case, with losses of UAH 600 million, which is also at the stage of judicial review.
In addition, the completion of the pre-trial investigation of the Kharkivoblenergo case, with losses to the state amounting to UAH 12.6 million, and the court’s consideration of the case of bribery by the Deputy Minister of Energy are mentioned, as well as the Energoatom case on kickbacks from contractors, which is still under investigation.
“Not just Midas: 5 high-profile cases of NABU and SAP in the energy sector since 2022,” the anti-corruption authorities said in a statement.
“The criminal organization that was exposed during Operation Midas is only part of a much bigger problem. Corruption in Ukraine’s energy sector is systemic and long-standing. NABU and SAP cases in this area cover various levels: from direct bribery in the ministry to large-scale market manipulation and theft of resources at state-owned enterprises,” NABU and SAP note.
The statement notes that anti-corruption agencies continue to consistently expose these crimes regardless of the political context or the names of those involved. “Cases are brought to court, and new challenges receive an immediate response. The work to clean up one of the most strategic and at the same time most corrupt industries will continue in the future,” NABU and SAP assure.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) are conducting a large-scale operation to expose corruption in the energy sector, according to a report on NABU’s Telegram channel on Monday morning.
“15 months of work and 1,000 hours of audio recordings. The activities of a high-level criminal organization have been documented. Its members have built a large-scale corruption scheme to influence strategic enterprises in the public sector, in particular JSC ”NAEK “Energoatom.” Details to follow,” the message says.
A message with identical content was published on the SAP’s Telegram channel.
Earlier, the media and MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak (Golos faction) reported on searches at the home of Timur Mindich, co-owner of the Kvartal 95 studio, Minister of Justice Herman Galushchenko, and at NAEK Energoatom JSC.
Zheleznyak said that the statement on corruption at Energoatom was filed by him and his colleagues. According to the MP, “Mindyich, Herman, Energoatom — all are in our investigation and in one subsequent statement to NABU.”
Later, he wrote in a telegram that “this is not all.”
Denmark will allocate DKK 60 million (USD 8.75 million) to Ukraine to support the fight against corruption under the EU Anti-Corruption Action Program (EUACI), the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports.
Denmark has been leading the EU’s anti-corruption program in Ukraine (EUACI) since 2016. During his visit to Ukraine today, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lekke Rasmussen announced support for the third phase of the program.
“Even before Russia’s illegal invasion, Ukraine had made significant progress in the fight against corruption, and even while the country is at war, it has managed to continue its positive development. But there are still areas that can be improved, and it is crucial for Ukraine’s EU dream that we help it achieve its goals,” the Foreign Ministry’s press service quoted Rasmussen as saying.
It is noted that the EU is contributing more than 70 million Danish kroner to the upcoming phase of the program, and Denmark is contributing almost 60 million Danish kroner.
Among other things, the program aims to promote openness and honesty in the reconstruction of Mykolaiv through close cooperation with the mayor and his team. It is planned to develop best practices for the reconstruction of Mykolaiv that can be used in other cities of Ukraine.
The ministry said that Rasmussen provided information on Denmark’s support for the EU’s anti-corruption program at today’s meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. The two foreign ministers met in the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, for the restoration of which Denmark has a special responsibility.
They discussed, among other things, how Denmark and Ukraine can further develop cooperation on Mykolaiv and how Denmark can continue to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.
The Danish Foreign Minister met with students of Mykolaiv Shipbuilding University as well as the city authorities.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will propose to the Verkhovna Rada to equate wartime corruption with high treason, the relevant bill will be sent in the coming week.
“For me personally, the war is No. 1. Should I find more time to fight corruption? Are we going to do it? Absolutely. But I don’t have, how can I tell you, a lot of time to deal with the details, because there are really little things,” Zelensky said in an interview with Natalia Moseychuk, made public on her YouTube channel.
According to him, “if you want to fight the local paving stones, there is no way to fight the paving stones of every city.”
“There are fundamental solutions, I pay attention to them. For example, corruption. I put the task to the legislation. The legislator of Ukraine will be offered my proposals to equate corruption with high treason in wartime. And I realize that such a weapon cannot operate permanently in society. But for wartime, I think it will help,” he said.
77.6% of the polled Ukrainians believe that the president is directly responsible for corruption in the government and military administrations.
This is evidenced by the data of a public opinion poll on the adaptation of Ukrainians to life in war conditions, conducted by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology in July by order of the Ilk Kucheriv Foundation for Democratic Initiatives.
“Delaying solutions to problems that undermine people’s faith in victory will also hit the president himself. The poll showed that according to 77.6% of citizens, “the president is directly responsible for corruption in the government, military administrations,” – said the executive director of the Foundation “Democratic Initiatives” Petro Burkovsky.
As the sociologist noted, “the widespread argument that ‘the government does not have time everywhere’ does not work after 16 months of war and will no longer play the role of an indulgence for abuse, indifference and incompetence of persons who were elected and appointed precisely so that they ‘had time to do everything and everywhere’ using their powers, all the more expanded under martial law.”
“That is, it is the officials who do not fulfill their duties that are no less a dangerous enemy at this stage than Russia. And citizens expect Vladimir Zelensky’s determination to remove such individuals from power, to listen to and promote performers who honestly point out problems and competently offer solutions,” Burkovsky continued.
“Therefore, the cleansing of the TCC from “invaluable personnel” should be a starting point, not a point in the process of change in the defense sector. In this case, we should not go the way of simple solutions. In particular, we can reasonably assume that the majority of citizens may support such a “simple idea” as “transferring military offenders to the front line.” However, can we trust weapons and soldiers’ lives to people who cynically peddled certificates to evade service? It is unlikely that such a decision will be supported in combat units. But the proposal to replace corrupt officials with veterans will resonate with the public,” summarizes the political analyst.
According to the survey, 72.9% of Ukrainians support the dismissal of wounded military personnel from the ranks of the AFU with the payment of all due compensation for treatment and rehabilitation, and 46.3% – transfer at will to positions in military commissions instead of current employees.
All-Ukrainian survey “Public and Political Attitudes of the Population of Ukraine” was conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology in July 2023 at the request of the Foundation for Democratic Initiatives. The survey was carried out by the method of personal interviews using a tablet. Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts were immediately excluded from the sample due to security issues. Kherson region was initially included for calculations, but due to security issues the task for Kherson region was implemented in the neighboring Mykolaiv region.
A total of 2011 interviews with respondents living in 135 localities of Ukraine were conducted as part of the study. Under normal circumstances, the statistical error of the sample does not exceed 3.3%
