Why Ukrainian president Zelenskyy wants the world to know what he earns

In the first, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly declared his income on Sunday. He wants to promote transparency and tackle corruption as part of the country’s push for European Union membership. However, the data for the president is not encouraging, as his income decreased in 2021 and further in 2022. But how much does he earn?. And why he wants the world to know his income? Here’s a closer look. What is Zelenskyy’s income? The Zelenskyy family’s income fell almost threefold between 2021 and 2022. In a post on the presidential website, Zelenskyy noted that his income had declined in 2021 and further in 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine at the end of February. Before the invasion, in 2021, Zelenskyy and his family reported income of 10.8 million hryvnias ($286,168 or Rs 2.37 crore), down 12 million hryvnias ($3,16,920 or Rs 2.63 crore) from the previous year. The 2021 figure included income from the sale of $142,000 (Rs 1.18 crore) of government bonds. In 2022, the Zelenskyy family’s income fell further to 3.7 million hryvnias ($97,717 or Rs 81.23 lakh) as he earned less rental income from real estate he owned because of the outbreak of the war. Zelenskyy’s declaration attributed his lower 2022 income to frozen rental agreements caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion. [caption id=“attachment_13668172” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s declaration attributed his lower 2022 income to frozen rental agreements caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion. File image/AP[/caption] According to the declaration, Zelenskyy completed the registration process for 22 trademarks in 2021, which began “long before he was elected president.” The full declaration lists several dozen trademarks. The number of apartments, vehicles, and other assets owned by Zelenskyy remains unchanged. According to his declaration, there are seven entries for apartments and two for cars, a Range Rover and a Mercedes. Why has Zelenskyy made his income public? Ukraine officially started the screening process to begin EU membership last week, and faces stringent conditions on addressing its historic corruption problem. Zelenskyy has called for public officials to disclose their incomes as part of efforts to increase transparency and eliminate corruption as Ukraine tries to meet the stringent requirements for its bid to join the European Union. Western allies providing weaponry and financial assistance as well as international bodies like the International Monetary Fund have also sought assurances on efforts to eliminate corruption. Ukraine’s National Agency on Corruption Prevention, one of several bodies devoted to exposing and eliminating graft, last month reopened to public scrutiny a register on declared income. With inputs from Reuters