Corruption in Eastern Europe and Central Asia remains at a high level.

This is according to the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) report by Transparency International.

According to the document, the corruption index reached a historic low in 2022.

At the same time, Russia's invasion of Ukraine was "the cruelest result of unrestrained corruption and kleptocracy" for the whole of last year, said the regional adviser of Transparency International in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

, Altyna Mirzabekova.

"It is time for the leaders of Eastern Europe and Central Asia to wake up, to finally commit to overcoming widespread corruption and supporting democracy, stability and basic freedoms for all people across the region," she added.

The report notes that corruption, conflict and security are closely intertwined.

"Misuse, embezzlement or theft of public funds can deprive the very institutions responsible for protecting citizens, ensuring the rule of law and maintaining peace, of the resources necessary to perform this function.

"Criminal and terrorist groups are often aided by the complicity of corrupt government officials, law enforcement agencies, judges and politicians, allowing them to thrive and operate with impunity," the document says.

Kleptocrats in Russia have accumulated great wealth, the lack of control over Putin provoked the war

According to Transparency International, the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was a stark reminder of the threat that corruption and lack of government accountability pose to global peace and security: Russia's kleptocrats have amassed vast fortunes by pledging loyalty to President Vladimir Putin in exchange for lucrative government contracts and protection of their economic interests.

The lack of any control over Putin's power allowed him to pursue his geopolitical ambitions with impunity.

This attack destabilized the European continent, threatening democracy and killing tens of thousands of citizens, the report notes.

The report assesses the perception of corruption in the public sector of 180 countries of the world.

The assessment uses information from 13 external sources, including the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, consulting companies and think tanks.

Russia entered the group of 14 countries with the highest corruption index.

Ukraine is also in the same group, but, as noted in the report, in 2022 the level of corruption in the country decreased significantly.

The position of Belarus has not changed - the country is included in the list with an average level of corruption.



Denmark, Finland and New Zealand topped the rating.

As noted in the document, strong democratic institutions and the implementation of human rights make these countries among the most peaceful in the world according to the Global Peace Index.

Russia's war against Ukraine

  • At 5:00 a.m. on February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of a military operation against Ukraine in the Donbass at the request of the "DPR" and "LPR" groups.

    On February 21, during a televised address to Russians, Putin called the so-called "DPR" and "LPR" independent states within the regions.

    On February 22, the Federation Council ratified this decision.

  • All days of the war, Ukrainian cities were bombarded with rockets, aircraft flew over them.

    Russian troops are attacking, including from the territory of Belarus, using airfields, bases and roads.

    Representatives of Lukashenka's regime justify the war, his opponents consider the territory of Belarus to be occupied, many call for resistance to the Russian invaders.

  • On February 27, the International Legion of Territorial Defense was created in Ukraine, and foreign volunteers were invited to join it.

    Belarusians also entered there.

  • In 2022, 17 Belarusians were killed in Ukraine fighting for its independence.

    These are ten soldiers of the Kalinovsky Regiment and seven from other units fighting in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

    It is known about two Belarusian soldiers who were captured by the Russians.

  • On March 30, the UN approved the composition of an independent commission that will investigate Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

    It included people who worked in the analysis of the genocide in Rwanda and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

  • Contrary to Putin's statements about attacks only on military facilities, the Russians are bombing schools, kindergartens and residential areas of Ukrainian cities.

    The Russians are using banned weapons, including cluster bombs, against civilians.

  • On April 1, Lithuania became the first country in the European Union to completely abandon Russian gas.

    Latvia and Estonia followed her example.

    Germany has promised to completely stop using Russian oil by the end of 2022.

  • On April 2, after the liberation of the town of Bucha near Kyiv, photojournalists published dozens of photographs showing hundreds of dead people, victims of mass murders committed by Russian troops.

    Many are buried in spontaneous mass graves.

    The Russian occupation also brought great destruction to the people of Barodyan.

    It is also known about a number of rapes, including babies.

  • On May 9, the US President signed the Land Leasing Law.

    This law restores the program from the Second World War, which will speed up the supply of weapons to Ukraine and increase the amount of such assistance.

  • On July 29, as a result of an attack on the colony in Alenivka, at least 53 Ukrainian prisoners who defended the "Azovstal" plant in Mariupol and surrendered after completing their mission were killed.

    The Russians accused Ukraine of the attack, the Ukrainian side declared the deliberate killing of prisoners by the Russian side.

    The Russian occupation authorities prevented the UN and Red Cross missions from entering Alenavka.

  • Officials of Ukraine claim the death of 10,000 to 13,000 Ukrainian soldiers.

    Russia claims that more than 110,000 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and wounded.

  • The military staffs of the USA and Europe assessed the losses of Russia and Ukraine as parity - about 100,000 soldiers on each side.

  • During the six months of the war, Russia was able to occupy about 20% of the Ukrainian territory.

    In March, the area of ​​occupied land reached 30%.

    However, at the end of the month, Russian troops retreated from the north of Ukraine, as well as from most of the Kharkiv region.

    At the end of August, Crimea, Luhansk and Kherson regions were completely occupied.

    And also 50% of the territory of the Donetsk region, about 70% of the Zaporizhia region, approximately 30% of the Kharkiv region.

  • Since February 24, Russia has captured only one regional center - Kherson.

    Russian troops retreated from it and from the right-bank part of the Kherson region in November 2022.

    The city was occupied by Russian troops in the first days of the war without actually fighting.

    Kyiv suspects part of the former leadership of Kherson and the region of treason.

    The former head of the SBU of the Kharkiv region was also detained on such suspicion.

    Now the front line in the Kherson region runs along the Dnieper.

    The Russian military regularly bombards Kherson and other territories on the right bank of the Dnieper.

  • In September, Ukrainian troops launched a large-scale counteroffensive, as a result of which Russian forces began to rapidly flee from their positions in the Kharkiv region.

    Only on the day of September 11, Ukrainians liberated more than 20 settlements in Slobazhanshchyna.

  • In September, Ukraine withdrew its mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo under the AAN to send an aviation unit to defend against Russian aggression.

  • On September 21, Putin announced the mobilization in Russia.

    After this statement, thousands of Russians went to the border crossings and began to leave for Georgia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Mongolia, Finland and other countries.

    In Russia itself, opponents of the war set fire to several military offices.

    Even people without military experience began to be conscripted into the army, despite promises that only experienced people would go to war.

    The mobilization of men into the Russian army also takes place in the occupied territories of Ukraine.

  • On October 2, Putin submitted a bill to the Russian parliament, which is an attempt to annex parts of four regions of Ukraine.

    Two new republics - "LPR" and "DNR" - and two regions - Zaporizhia and Kherson will be part of Russia.

    But thanks to the counteroffensive of the Ukrainians, the borders drawn in Moscow are not fully controlled by the occupying forces.

  • In October, Ukrainian troops successfully continued their counteroffensive, at the beginning of October they liberated Liman and Yampal, as well as significantly approached Svatov in the Luhansk region, and from there the way to Severodanetsk and Lysichansk opens.

  • On the morning of October 10, the Russians began intensive shelling of Ukrainian territory, including the center of Kyiv.

    Rockets also reached Lviv, depriving the city of electricity.

    Since then, Russia has carried out about 10 missile attacks on infrastructure facilities and other civilian targets on the territory of Ukraine.

  • On October 10, Lukashenka held a meeting with the Security Council and announced the deployment of a joint grouping of troops with Putin.

  • On the evening of November 15, Russia fired 100 missiles across the territory of Ukraine, primarily at energy facilities, and in Poland, two missiles fell in the village of Przewodau, 6 km from the border with Ukraine, killing two people.

    The Polish authorities summoned the Russian ambassador for explanations.

    Then it turned out that it was probably the result of the work of the Ukrainian Air Defense Forces, which shot down a Russian missile.

  • In November, with the onset of cold weather, Russia intensified its missile attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

    As a result, many Ukrainian cities and part of Moldova were left without electricity and water.

    Ukraine called an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council.

  • On January 1, 2023, the Department of Strategic Communications of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported the death of almost 400 Russians during the attack on the building of the Polytechnic School No. 19 in Makeyevka.

    Russian soldiers were there and mobilized.

    The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation recognized 89 killed.

  • On January 14, 2023, as a result of another shelling, a Russian missile hit a high-rise building in the city of Dnipro, killing and injuring dozens of people.

    The rescue operation to find the bodies stretched for several days.

  • As of the end of January, intense fighting is going on for the city of Bakhmut.

    It is under the control of Ukraine, but is subjected to massive shelling by the Russians on a daily basis.

    Volunteers cannot enter some areas through this.

    On January 25, the Ukrainian military leadership recognized the loss of the city of Solyadar.

    Presumably, the Russians took it back on January 13.

  • Independent verification of information about military actions provided by officials of various parties is still impossible.