A New York Times investigation found that Ukraine’s government repeatedly weakened independent oversight meant to prevent corruption in state-owned companies.

Although Western donors required supervisory boards to monitor spending, the Zelensky administration delayed forming them, left key seats empty, packed them with loyalists, or rewrote rules to strip their power.

This allowed major corruption scandals to erupt at the nuclear power company Energoatom, the power grid operator Ukrenergo, and the Defense Procurement Agency—despite billions in Western aid.

In some cases, officials fired executives or took control just as boards tried to assert independence.

European governments continued funding Ukraine despite private concerns, citing the urgency of the war.

Israeli operatives secretly recorded U.S. forces and allied officials at a joint military base in southern Israel set up to coordinate Gaza aid and postwar planning.

The surveillance became so widespread that the U.S. base commander ordered Israeli counterparts to stop recording meetings.

The base, known as the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC), was created in October under Trump’s Gaza ceasefire and reconstruction plan.

It hosts U.S., Israeli, and allied military planners, alongside diplomats and aid officials—but excludes all Palestinian representatives.

Source: The Guardian