• Amid a widespread corruption scandal that's enraged Ukrainians, Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday announced the dismissal of all the country's "military commissars" — those responsible for drafting the country's fighting-aged men for the war effort. Newsweek (LR: 1 CP: 5)
• Coming at a time when Ukraine's army needs new recruits, Zelenskyy said the country's law enforcement and intelligence agencies had discovered widespread practices of the commissars accepting bribes from potential new recruits to avoid enlistment and being sent to the front lines. Guardian (LR: 2 CP: 5)
• "Some took cash, some took cryptocurrency — that's the only difference," Zelenskyy said. Other than that, he said, "the cynicism" was all the same. He added that there were currently 112 criminal proceedings against 33 suspects at this stage. President
• The investigations were first launched after the Ukrainian news outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported in June that Yevhen Borysov, the military commissar in the southern Odesa region, acquired a string of luxury cars and high-end properties in Spain, cumulatively valued at roughly $5M. Following an official investigation, he was soon dismissed from his post. Ukrainska Pravda
• In announcing the replacement of all military commissars, Zelenskyy said: "It is quite fair. Full responsibility. The dismissed ‘military commissars’ and other officials who have shoulder straps and in respect of whom no evidence of crimes or violations has been found, if they want to keep their shoulder straps and prove their worthiness, they should go to the front." Guardian (LR: 2 CP: 5)
• He added that the system would be overhauled by replacing the commissars with those who've already served on the front lines. "This system should be run by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery in times of war constitute treason," he said. President

Pro-establishment narrative:

• Zelenskyy understands that if Ukraine is to join NATO or the EU, it has to clamp down on its problem of corruption that existed long before the war with Russia. He is rightly taking steps to eradicate this problem and should be commended for taking Ukraine in the right direction.
  Spectator (UK) (LR: 5 CP: 5)

Establishment-critical narrative:

• Despite Zelenskyy's public pronouncements, he himself has been at the center of corruption allegations to the tune of several hundred million dollars. How can he be taken seriously on corruption if he's also potentially involved?
  CF.ORG

Nerd narrative:

• There's a 1% chance that Ukraine will join the EU before 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
  Metaculus (LR: 3 CP: 3)