The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) continues its systematic work on building integrity within Ukraine's security and defence sector. A vital tool in this effort is the BI Defence Community platform, established to consolidate the efforts of all sector bodies around unified approaches to corruption prevention in accordance with international standards.
The platform brings together state institutions and international partners to form a common integrity policy, strengthen institutional capacity, and ensure the coordinated implementation of NATO recommendations for building integrity in the security and defence sector. This involves a transition from fragmented solutions to a systematic model where anti-corruption tools function as a single mechanism – from policy formation to practical implementation.
Within the framework of this platform, the NACP, in partnership with the NATO Representation to Ukraine and the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF), is implementing a set of measures aimed at unifying approaches and developing a professional community. Among these is a three-day training session for representatives of authorised units for the prevention and detection of corruption within the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine system, titled “Anti-corruption leadership & Building Integrity.”
This event is part of the systematic work to strengthen the capacity of authorised units, develop interaction, and exchange practices. Participants, along with representatives from the Department for Prevention and Detection of Corruption of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, experts from DCAF, the NACP, and the Building Integrity and Training and Education Centre (BITEC) of the National Defence University of Ukraine, worked on defence ethics tools, corruption prevention mechanisms, and approaches to identifying and minimising corruption risks in defence procurement. Additionally, the event served as a platform for defining the Ministry of Defence's strategic priorities in the field of corruption prevention and integrity building for 2026.
As emphasised by the Deputy Head of the NACP, Serhii Hupiak, consistency is the determining factor for effective change: “Building a unified anti-corruption system in the security and defence sector for the proper implementation of international standards is one of the key tasks of the National Agency as the National Coordinator for Ukraine's cooperation with NATO in the field of building integrity.”
This thesis was supported by international partners – Joakim Frendin, a representative of NATO Headquarters, and Grazvydas Jasutis, Senior Advisor at DCAF. They noted that the implementation of the Alliance's recommendations in the field of building integrity depends on systematic interaction and the exchange of successful practices as steps toward good governance and the implementation of effective corruption prevention mechanisms. Furthermore, unity of approaches creates a solid foundation for systemic reform, allowing the integrity-building process to scale from the strategic level of policy formation to practical implementation within the Ministry of Defence system.
Therefore, the BI Defence Community serves as an intellectual centre that, according to Marta Ivashkiv, Head of the Directorate of Integrity Policy Making in the Security and Defence Sector, produces unified algorithms for anti-corruption management, thereby significantly simplifying interaction with international partners.
“The sustainability of anti-corruption changes in the security and defence sector is only possible through a transition from isolated measures to the construction of a holistic anti-corruption architecture. At the same time, one of the key factors in increasing the efficiency of implementing NATO tasks is a unified approach to implementation and effective coordination among security and defence sector bodies and international partners during the introduction of international standards. BI Defence Community is a priority initiative for developing unified approaches to anti-corruption management within the security and defence sector bodies,” she emphasised.
