Ukraine picks chief anti-graft prosecutor after months of delay

Ukraine appointed a new head of the anti-corruption prosecutors’ office after months of delay, fulfilling a requirement from the European Union and other international financial donors.

A commission picked up Oleksandr Klymenko, a former anti-graft bureau detective, to lead the office, according to an online broadcast of the meeting on Tuesday. His predecessor’s term expired in August 2020.

The former Soviet state, which is seeking closer integration with the West as it fights off a military invasion by Russia, has agreed to a demand by the EU and the International Monetary Fund to demonstrate progress in fighting endemic corruption as a condition to receiving financial aid.

The government has created institutions aimed at rooting out graft, though little progress has been achieved so far, disappointing Ukrainians and their foreign partners.

Ukraine must also appoint a new head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, which has come under repeated political attack aimed at undermining its investigations into corrupt officials.