Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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September 11, 2025 Economic development
As Ukraine prepares to enter a period of post-war reconstruction, ensuring transparent and accountable use of state and international resources is critical. Corruption remains a serious obstacle to the country’s development, making such measures absolutely necessary.
As part of efforts to ensure transparency and accountability in Ukraine, an analysis of the state of whistleblowing systems at state-owned enterprises was conducted. The study was supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Japan.
The survey, which involved 888 employees from 24 state-owned enterprises, assessed levels of awareness, trust in reporting channels, the existence of whistleblower protection policies, and overall corporate culture.
Awareness and willingness to report corruption
Although 85 percent of Ukrainian civil servants are willing to report corruption, only 46 percent of businesses have formal whistleblower support policies. This gap reflects a lack of motivation and protection to create a safe environment conducive to fighting corruption.
Corruption reporting channels
Employees prefer direct methods of reporting: the most popular channel is the anti-corruption commissioner's email (63 percent), followed by personal meetings (47 percent). Less commonly used are hotlines, shared corporate email addresses, and the Unified Whistleblower Message Portal.
Support from management
While most employees (57 percent) believe that management supports a whistleblowing culture, nearly a third (31 percent) fear negative consequences or retaliation for reporting violations, which is a major barrier to creating an open and transparent work environment.
Whistleblower Protection Awareness
64 percent of Ukrainian civil servants know about state protection of whistleblowers, 83 percent are aware of the possibility of anonymous reporting. However, 24 percent of respondents do not have a clear idea of the reporting process, which reduces the effectiveness of the entire system.
Effectiveness of the message handling system
The process for reviewing reports of violations is considered transparent by 56 percent of employees, 34 percent found it difficult to answer, and 10 percent considered it opaque. This indicates a need for improved communication on procedures and review results.
Based on the data obtained, the authors of the study conclude that the culture of information in state-owned enterprises of Ukraine requires serious improvement.
Recommendations
The report offers specific recommendations to the government, business leaders and anti-corruption commissioners:
Authorities should provide specialized training for anti-corruption commissioners, strengthen enforcement, and ensure effective reporting channels and whistleblower protection. Enterprise management should foster a culture of integrity, oversee the development of whistleblower policies, and ensure whistleblower protection from reprisals. The effectiveness of these systems should also be regularly reviewed. Anti-corruption commissioners should systematically evaluate the effectiveness of whistleblower systems, ensure transparent procedures, update internal policies in line with the law, promote safe reporting channels, train staff, and combat whistleblower stigma.
The implementation of these measures will strengthen whistleblowing systems, increase employee trust, ensure effective protection of whistleblowers and, ultimately, enhance integrity in the Ukrainian public sector.
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
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