Today, on International Anti-Corruption Day, we reflect on how Ukraine continues to progress in the fight against corruption despite the war and many other challenges.
Together with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and Ukrzaliznytsia, we organised an event at the Ukraine WOW exhibition at Kyiv’s Central Railway Station — a space designed to make visitors fall in love with Ukraine. Ukraine WOW brings together interactive installations and iconic artefacts that tell the story of Ukraine’s culture, nature, people, past, and future.
Our “WOW Express” travelled through five symbolic stations, each carrying its own meaning in the context of integrity and anti-corruption:
- Kyiv — who is fighting corruption here and now
- Kharkiv — war and defence
- Lviv — culture and social impact
- Davos — economy
- Brussels — European integration
“During the last 10 years Ukraine has become a country that is fighting corruption – and I would add: Ukraine is doing so to an extent we don’t see in many other countries. When high-level cases are exposed, it is a sign that the anti-corruption system is working; the independent anti-corruption institutions are cleaning up”
said the EUACI Head, Allan Pagh Kristensen.
Just as trains of Ukrzaliznytsia keep moving people from one place to another, the fight against corruption moves Ukraine closer to its future as an EU member state. High-profile investigations conducted by key independent anti-corruption institutions have proved that the system is functioning: cases are being pursued and brought to court, and corrupt officials receive their final guilty verdicts.
The success of anti-corruption reform is a core requirement for Ukraine’s EU accession path. The EU continues to provide significant financial, expert, and institutional support to secure this progress. Through the EUACI, anti-corruption bodies have been strengthened, civil society and independent investigative media supported, reforms and legislation facilitated, and Integrity Cities developed.
We remain committed to supporting Ukraine at every step of this fight — ensuring that transparency, accountability, and integrity shape Ukraine’s successful future in the European Union.
The train keeps moving. We continue forward — toward a Ukraine that not only fights corruption, but defeats it.
