Latest official dismissed as Zelensky vows weekly firings of corrupt judges

The head of the Zhytomyr region’s forestry agency became
the latest dismissal as part of President Zelensky’s declared nationwide
campaign of ridding state bodies of corrupt officials. Andriy Kurinskiy
announced his dismissal on Sept. 3 after Zelensky had requested that he submit
his own resignation during a mid-August meeting in Zhytomyr. In front of the
mass media and forestry administration officials, Zelensky accused Kurinskiy of
profiting from the illegal extraction of amber, also causing deforestation in
the region’s northern areas.

Zelensky reiterated the need to rid all state bodies
of corrupt officials during a Sept. 2 meeting with leaders of the Cabinet,
Parliament and law enforcement bodies. He charged Prime Minister Oleksiy
Honcharuk, Finance Minister Oksana Markarova and State Customs Service Head Max
Nefyodov with ridding the State Customs Service of “all old corrupt officials”
by Dec. 1. “I will help you personally,” Zelensky said, as reported by the
pravda.com.ua news site.

At the same meeting, Zelensky called for a “complete
cleansing” of first-tier judges by the year end, also vowing to strip corrupt
judges of the positions and titles. “Only with decisive measures will it be
possible to require the law’s fulfillment,” Zelensky said. “Such decisive
measures are the weekly removal of judicial robes from those not deserving of
the honored title of judge. This cleansing should apply to all, and above all
judges of the highest tiers. First-tier courts should be filled with new
judges. More than 2,0000 vacancies need to be filled by the New Year.”