Ukraine's corruption continues to cost the country dearly
Their country is divided by a war that has killed thousands and displaced more than a million people.
And yet when polled on which is more urgent — the war against pro-Russian rebels or the war against corruption — Ukrainians say it's corruption, by a margin of more than two-to-one.
Such is the scale of disgust with what is seen as rampant thievery by many of Ukraine's ruling elite.
And the current president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, has been at times a reluctant recruit to the anti-corruption campaign.
Despite that hesitancy, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paid a visit to Ukraine earlier this month. While there, he signed a free trade agreement with Poroshenko and pledged Canada's continuing support for the nation as it battles Russian-backed rebels.
Poroshenko is Europe's richest leader, according to Forbes. The leaked Panama Papers recently revealed that in August 2014, as Ukraine's army retreated from its bloodiest defeat of the war, Poroshenko was registering an offshore company in the British Virgin Islands.
Poroshenko showed his frustration with the topic of corruption during his news conference with Trudeau in Kyiv, where he clearly preferred to talk about Russian aggression than answer questions on the issue.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ukraine-costly-corruption-russia-war-1.3683974
