NAZK Releases 2025 Whistleblower Protection Report Highlighting Decline in Reports and Awareness Gaps

NAZK's 2025 Review of Whistleblower Protection in Ukraine

According to НАЗК: In 2025, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NAZK) published a comprehensive analysis evaluating the effectiveness of Ukraine's whistleblower protection policies. The report presents key statistics on corruption reports, public legal awareness, and institutional performance, while identifying ongoing challenges in this area. Notably, it reveals a reduction in the number of corruption disclosures alongside persistent issues related to citizens' understanding of their rights and the handling of these reports.

Key Data and Emerging Patterns

The data shows that in 2025, 3,488 corruption reports were submitted via the Unified Digital Portal for Corruption Reports, marking a sharp drop from 7,236 reports received in 2024. Direct submissions to NAZK also declined, with 1,759 reports in 2025 compared to 3,906 in the previous year. The proportion of citizens who reported corruption after discovering it decreased from 9.7% in 2024 to 7.3% in 2025.

This downward trend is partly attributed to challenges in legal literacy. Only 16.9% of the population in 2025 demonstrated sufficient knowledge about whistleblower protection guarantees, a marginal improvement over 16.8% in 2024. Additionally, information about reporting channels on various agency websites remains difficult to locate or outdated. Some corruption reports are also treated as routine citizen inquiries, which undermines the safeguards meant to protect whistleblowers.

Institutional analysis highlights progress such as the development of a whistleblower guide in 2025, which aims to enhance support mechanisms. Nevertheless, significant issues persist in the protection framework. This report was prepared by NAZK with the assistance of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) under the project "Supporting the Development of Effective Tools to Prevent Corruption and Strengthen Anti-Corruption Compliance in Ukraine."

NAZK's findings emphasize the urgent need to improve citizens’ legal awareness and ensure accessible, up-to-date information on whistleblower protections. The decline in reports could indicate a lack of trust in public institutions or insufficient support for those willing to expose corruption. International cooperation, particularly with organizations like the OSCE, remains crucial for advancing Ukraine’s anti-corruption efforts.

As the NAZK report highlights a decline in whistleblower reports, it is crucial to understand the broader context of Ukraine's anti-corruption efforts. Recent legal actions taken against prominent politicians by the High Anti-Corruption Court underscore the ongoing struggle against corruption and the challenges faced by institutions. For further insights into these developments and their implications for the fight against corruption, read more about the recent court sentences and the impact of disinformation.