The fight against crime in Ukraine is led by the Ukrainian Police and certain other agencies. Due to the hard economic situation in the 1990s, the crime rate rose steadily to a peak in 2000. Following this peak, the crime rate declined, until 2009. In that year, the world financial crisis reached Ukraine.
In 2017, the situation with regard to crime started to improve. The preliminary crime data for 2020 [1] are the lowest in a decade.
| year | crimes | victims | grave crimes | underage crimes | murders | prisoners |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 500 902 | 321 228 | 178 947 | 17 342 | 2 356 | 147 716 |
| 2011 | 515 833 | 343 159 | 171 119 | 17 846 | 2 506 | 154 027 |
| 2012 | 443 665 | 302 563 | 145 733 | 14 238 | 2 261 | 154 029 |
| 2013 | 563 560 | 426 651 | 156 131 | 8 781 | 1 955 | 147 112 |
| 2014 | 529 139 | 393 532 | 154 216 | 7 467 | 4 389 | 126 937 |
| 2015 | 565 182 | 412 689 | 177 855 | 7 171 | 3 004 | 73 431 |
| 2016 | 592 604 | 444 617 | 213 521 | 5 230 | 1 726 | 69 997 |
| 2017 | 523 911 | 374 238 | 198 074 | 5 608 | 1 551 | 60 399 |
| 2018 | 487 133 | 344 780 | 167 986 | 4 750 | 1 508 | 57 100 |
| 2019 | 444 130 | 301 792 | 140 468 | 4 088 | 1 428 | 55 078 |
| 2020 |
Comparison of major crime indicators per 100 000 population, 2019.
| country | murder rate | incarceration rate |
|---|---|---|
 Ukraine | 3.4 | 131 |
 Poland | 0.7 | 179 |
 Germany | 0.9 | 63 |
 Greece | 0.9 | 108 |
 Russia | 5.4 | 316 |
In 2010, Ukraine had a murder rate of 4.3 per 100,000 of population. [2] There were a total of 1,988 murders in Ukraine in 2010. [2] In 2017, 0.3% of Ukrainian crime was homicide. [3] In 2016 the Ukrainian police investigated 1,707 murders and, in 2017, 1,397. [3]
Corruption is a widespread and growing problem in Ukrainian society. [4] [5] In 2014's Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index, Ukraine was ranked 142nd out of the 175 countries investigated (tied with Uganda and the Comoros). [6]
Bribes are given to ensure that public services are delivered either in time or at all. [7] Ukrainians have stated they give bribes because they think it is customary and expected. [7] [8] According to a 2008 Management Systems International (MSI) sociological survey, the highest corruption levels were found in vehicle inspection (57.5%), the police (54.2%), health care (54%), the courts (49%) and higher education (43.6%). [9] On 8 June 2011, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych stated that corruption costs the state budget US$2.5 billion in revenues annually and that, through corrupt dealings in public procurement, 10 to 15% (US$7.4 billion) of the state budget "ends up in the pockets of officials." [10]
According to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the main causes of corruption in Ukraine are a weak justice system and an over-controlling, non-transparent government combined with business-political ties and a weak civil society. [11] Corruption is regularly discussed in the Ukrainian media. [12] [13]
In May 2018, Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid stated that corruption is the primary factor holding back the development of Ukraine and that it can only be resolved with a strong political will, after a meeting with the head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), Artem Sytnyk. [14]
In 2017, the main segment of crime was theft, representing a 52% proportion of the total crimes in Ukraine. [3]
According to official statistics there were 126 acts of terror on Ukrainian soil every month in 2014, 108 in 2015, 155 in 2016 and 124 in 2017. [15]
From 2014 until late 2017, 5,804 criminal cases were registered as 'acts of terror', or 129 terrorist attacks per month, on average. In this time-frame, 15 persons were convicted on charges of terrorism. [15]
Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych is a former Ukrainian politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014. He also served as the prime minister of Ukraine several times between 2002 and 2007 and was a member of the Verkhovna Rada from 2006 to 2010. A member of the pro-Russian Party of Regions, Yanukovych was removed from the presidency by the Ukrainian parliament in 2014, at the time neighboring Russia started to annex Ukrainian Crimea. Since then, he has lived in exile in Russia.
The Orange Revolution was a series of protests, that lead to political upheaval in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005. It gained momentum primarily due to the initiative of the general population, sparked by the aftermath of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election run-off which was claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter intimidation and electoral fraud. Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, was the focal point of the movement's campaign of civil resistance, with thousands of protesters demonstrating daily. Nationwide, this was highlighted by a series of acts of civil disobedience, sit-ins, and general strikes organized by the opposition movement.
The judicial system of Ukraine is outlined in the 1996 Constitution of Ukraine. Before this there was no notion of judicial review nor any Supreme court since 1991's Ukrainian independence when it started being slowly restructured.
Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko is a Ukrainian politician, who served as Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2005, and again from 2007 until 2010; the first and only woman in Ukraine to hold that position. She has been a member of the Verkhovna Rada as People's Deputy of Ukraine several times between 1997 and 2007, and presently as of 2014, and was First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for the fuel and energy complex from 1999 to 2001. She has a degree in Candidate of Economic Sciences.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine is the ministry of the Ukrainian government that oversees the interior affairs of Ukraine. The ministry carries out state policy for the protection of rights and liberties of citizens, investigates unlawful acts against the interest of society and state, fights crime, provides civil order, ensures civil security and traffic safety, and guarantees the security and protection of important individuals. It is a centralised agency headed by the Minister of Internal Affairs. The ministry works closely with the office of the General Prosecutor of Ukraine. It oversees the National Police of Ukraine, National Guard of Ukraine (gendarmerie), the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, State Border Guard Service of Ukraine and the State Migration Service.
Yuriy Vitaliyovych Lutsenko is a Ukrainian politician, Ukrainian Interior Minister and member in the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Party of Regions is a banned pro-Russian political party in Ukraine formed in late 1997 that became the largest party in Ukraine between 2006 and 2014.
Yuriy Ivanovych Yekhanurov is a Ukrainian politician who was Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2005 to 2006 and Minister of Defense from 2007 to 2009.
Presidential elections were held in Ukraine on 17 January 2010. As no candidate received a majority of the vote, a run-off election was held between Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych on 7 February.
Parliamentary elections were held in Ukraine on 28 October 2012. Because of various reasons, including the "impossibility of announcing election results" various by-elections have taken place since. Hence, several constituencies have been left unrepresented at various times.
Ukraine was in 96th place out of 180 countries listed in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index, having returned to top 100 of this list for the first time since 2009, but dropped down one spot to 97th place in 2021, being characterized as being in a "difficult situation".
The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine is the ministry of the Ukrainian government charged with developing and implementing national financial and budget policies, and with defining national policies in customs and taxation. The ministry is responsible for ensuring that the state has enough resources to perform its functions and that financial policies promote economic growth.
A People's Deputy of Ukraine is a member of parliament and legislator elected by a popular vote to the Verkhovna Rada. People's Deputies of Ukraine are often referred to simply as the "deputies"; however, regular deputies are members of regional and local councils, while people's deputies are elected to the national parliament, Verkhovna Rada. Prior to 1991, the Verkhovna Rada was named the Supreme Council of People's Deputies of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Corruption is an issue in Ukrainian society going back to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. After declaring independence from the Soviet Union, Ukraine faced a series of politicians from different sides of the political spectrum, as well as criminal bosses and oligarchs, who used the corruption of police, political parties, and industry to gain power. Despite improvements, as in Moldova corruption remains an obstacle to joining the EU.
National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine or NABU is a Ukrainian law enforcement anti-corruption agency which investigates corruption in Ukraine and prepares cases for prosecution. It has investigatory powers but cannot indict suspects. Only agency findings passed to the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office become a part of criminal a case.
Vitaliy Yuriyovych Zakharchenko is a Ukrainian and Russian politician who is a senior consultant at Russia's Rostec state corporation. He previously served as Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs from 7 November 2011 until he was suspended from his duties by the Ukrainian parliament on 21 February 2014. His position as Minister of the Interior, had given him control over the Ukrainian national police service, the Militsiya. One day prior to his dismissal, he had signed a decree calling for the police to be armed with combat weapons, to be used in their ongoing battles against protesters in Kyiv's Maidan Nezalezhnosti. The Council of the European Union sanctioned him effective 6 March 2014 for misuse of public funds and human rights violations, and the United States sanctioned him effective 22 December 2015.
Since May 2010, a series of criminal cases have been opened against Ukrainian politician and former Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko. After Tymoshenko was released from prison on February 22, 2014, in the concluding days of the Euromaidan revolution, following a revision of the Criminal Code of Ukraine that effectively decriminalized the actions for which she was imprisoned, she was cleared of all charges. She was officially rehabilitated on February 28, 2014. Just after the Euromaidan revolution, the Ukrainian Supreme Court closed the case and found that "no crime was committed".
Oleksandr Yefremov or Aleksandr Efremov is a Ukrainian former parliamentarian and politician. A former governor of the Luhansk Oblast, from 2010 until 2014 he was Party of Regions's faction leader in the Verkhovna Rada. On 14 February 2015 Yefremov was detained on suspicion of "abuse of power under aggravating circumstances". This arrest was effectively ended when his bail expired on 1 November 2015. Yefremov was again detained on 30 July 2016 on suspicion of violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity by helping to create the Luhansk People's Republic and misappropriation of property. He was released from prison pending investigation in 2019. Shortly after the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Yefremov moved to Moscow, Russia where he now resides.
Tetiana Mykolaivna Chornovol is a Ukrainian journalist and civic activist, and one of the leaders in the Euromaidan protest campaign. She is known for investigative reports about corruption in Ukraine, as well as for her direct actions. In 2014, she was elected to the Verkhovna Rada.
Euromaidan was a wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on the night of 21 November 2013 with large public protests demanding closer European integration. Protesters also stated they joined because of the dispersal of protesters on 30 November and "a will to change life in Ukraine". The scope of the protests evolved over subsequent months, and by 25 January 2014 the protests were fueled by the perception of widespread government corruption, abuse of power, and violation of human rights in Ukraine. By February 2014 the protests had largely escalated into violence, resulting in the Revolution of Dignity and the resignation of Azarov's government and ousting of President Yanukovych. This resulted in the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian War.
