This article argues that anti-corruption is not just a set of technical tools, but a complex political exercise in modernisation that mobilises key resources and different categories of actors. It shows that, historically, the international community's concern with good governance in Ukraine has been materialised in the form of numerous anti-corruption conditions attached to transnational aid flows. Despite important improvements at institutional levels, the local practices and everyday routines have not changed fundamentally. The article develops a more nuanced explanation of the new “war on corruption” in Ukraine by focusing on three main elements: actors, institutions, and practices of anti-corruption.