On October 14, President Viktor Yanukovych launched the advanced stage of Ukraine’s military reform by issuing a decree canceling the compulsory draft to the armed forces in 2014. However, Yanukovych’s announcement nearly coincided with a scandal involving three top Ukrainian generals in the General Staff (GS).
The
Ukrainian media defined the scandal as a “Russia-linked conspiracy” and
underscored incidents of “corruption” related to the case. More likely,
however, the GS scandal actually represents a power struggle reflecting
the decay of governance in the Ukrainian security and defense sector.
