Anti-corruption authorities in Ukraine are investigating more than 60 cases related to the defence sector, a top law enforcement official says.
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Cleaning up graft in the military, which has been hit with scandals in recent months, is crucial for Ukraine as it struggles to fend off Russia's nearly two-year-old invasion and seeks more foreign aid.
Semen Kryvonos, head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), said his agency has prioritised cases involving procurement during the past two years and has sought help from foreign partners in its investigations.
"Theft in the army at this time is an extraordinarily terrible crime, and investigations in this sphere are one of the most important priorities of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau," he told reporters in Kyiv.
Defence Minister Rustem Umerov suspended a senior official earlier this month after another agency, the Security Service of Ukraine, named him as a suspect in an alleged $US40 million ($A61 million) embezzlement scheme.
Umerov's predecessor, Oleksii Reznikov, was dismissed last September following procurement-related scandals at his ministry, which he described as smears.
He was not personally accused of corruption.
Ukraine, which ranks 104th out of 180 countries on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, has made fighting graft across the public sector a top priority as it seeks membership of the European Union.
Kryvonos said anti-corruption authorities had delivered their best-ever results last year but called for the establishment of a dedicated forensics centre to process cases more quickly and more transparently.
Australian Associated Press
