Military personnel will be allowed to report corruption and will be protected from prosecution for doing so

Ukrainian military personnel will have the right to expose corruption in the military and will be protected from prosecution for such reports.

This draft law of the Ministry of Defense was supported by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

Currently, the Disciplinary Statute of the Armed Forces of Ukraine allows reporting only on illegal decisions of the command, illegal prosecution, and other violations that directly concerned the serviceman himself.

Now, if the bill is passed by the Verkhovna Rada and signed by the president, every serviceman will be able to report corruption they have discovered in the military, even if it is not directly related to them. This can be done through:

• internal channels — single whistleblower message portal and special telephone lines;
• The National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NAPC), the National Police, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) or the Prosecutorʼs Office;
• external channels — media, public associations or trade unions.

The new rules will also provide protection for military whistleblowers. They will not be dismissed from service, forced to resign, held disciplinary accountable, or subjected to other negative measures of influence for reporting corruption.

The head of the Department for Prevention and Detection of Corruption of the Ministry of Defense Serhiy Stepanyan emphasized that such changes will increase transparency in military structures, strengthen corruption prevention mechanisms, and guarantee reliable protection of whistleblowers from possible persecution or pressure.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.