"I don't think the EU will punish Ukraine". MEPs answered what will happen if corruption is found in the Defense Ministry

If further corruption suspicions affect the Ministry of Defense, the European Union will not punish the whole of Ukraine, said for text LIGA.net MEPs Pekka Toveri and Petras Auštrevičius, chair and member of the Delegation to the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Association Committee, respectively.

They urged not to panic if the Ukrainian authorities respond decisively. At the same time, Toveri admitted that there are risks.

"We all know that there is a war going on, and you have much more money in the defense sector. This creates opportunities for corruption. But again, what is more important is that if there is a case and the authorities take action, the people responsible for corruption are charged and brought to court to consider the case," the politician said.

In his opinion, the EU will not resort to collective punishment of Ukraine.

At the same time, Auštrevičius compared corruption to an infection, not the death of a "body."

"Corruption is like a disease. The body, I mean Ukraine, is fine. But there are some infections inside. This does not mean that we should kill the body. We should amputate it. If some Ukrainians turn out to be criminals and misuse this money, and the Ukrainian authorities solve this case and bring it to court, I don't think the EU will punish Ukraine for it," the MEP said.

Earlier, on November 11, the former minister of defense and now secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov denied the statement made by the prosecutor of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office during one of the court hearings. The prosecutor claimed that the defendant in the operation "Midas" Timur Mindich allegedly influenced Umerov when he was head of the Defense Ministry (read more here).

• Austrevicius also stated LIGA.net that the EU institutions will inevitably increase attention and monitoring in Ukraine in the light of recent developments with the exposure of corruption within Operation Midas.

• A high-profile corruption scandal involving President Zelenskyy's "friends" erupted after the European Commission expressed concern in its enlargement report about attempts to limit the independence of Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies. European politicians are not just "aware" – they are disappointed. More about the situation read in the text LIGA.net.