NEW YORK, January 26. /TASS/. Bill Gates, a co-founder of Microsoft, has said that corruption in the Ukrainian government is very unfortunate for the people in the country.

He said before the start of the Russian special operation "the Ukrainian government is one of the worst in the world, you know, corrupt, controlled by a few rich people, I mean, really unfortunate for the people in Ukraine."

He made the comments in a speech at the Lowy Institute in Australia, which was broadcast at the institute’s website.

Ukrainian news media have in recent days reported about several corruption scandals involving some of the country’s top officials. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky on January 22 warned in a video address he would make a government reshuffle. A slew of dismissals ensued.