Zelenskiy urges two ministers to quit amid graft probe
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called for the dismissal of two cabinet ministers as part of an investigation into an alleged corruption scheme involving a former associate who fueled public anger against his wartime government.
Anti-corruption officials said this week they had arrested five people and identified two who remain at large, suspecting them of being involved in a US$100 million ($153 million) conspiracy to control the procurement of nuclear agency Energoatom and other state enterprises.
Ukraine’s biggest wartime bribery scandal comes as the country’s undermanned and underequipped troops struggle to fend off overwhelming Russian advances on the battlefield.
Zelenskiy, whose former comedy career business partner is among the suspects, said in a video speech that corruption in Russia’s energy sector, weakened by regular air strikes on infrastructure, was “absolutely unacceptable”.
Shortly after her remarks, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko submitted a request to parliament to dismiss Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk and Hrynchuk’s predecessor, Justice Minister German Galushchenko.
Galushchenko was not identified as one of the seven suspects announced this week, but the identity of one of Galushchenko’s former advisors was revealed.
He denied wrongdoing.
According to a source familiar with the matter, Galushchenko’s voice was heard in the recorded conversation with some suspects in the case announced by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine.
The minister did not respond to Reuters’ request for additional comment.
Hrynchuk, who said he submitted his resignation early Wednesday, has denied any wrongdoing.
The investigation, carried out by anti-corruption agency NABU and detailed gradually in stylish videos featuring the lead detective, is the latest revelation of corruption allegations plaguing Ukraine’s wartime government.
Progress in the fight against corruption is crucial to Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union, and officials see it as key to breaking free from Russia’s influence.
Accusations of kickbacks in the energy sector are particularly sensitive among Ukrainians, who face daily power outages ahead of winter due to major Russian attacks on infrastructure.
This could also dampen the enthusiasm of donors who are providing critical aid to Ukraine’s faltering energy sector.
Speaking on local television, MP Serhiy Nahorniak, a member of the parliament’s energy committee, said he had already been contacted by donors who refused to provide transformers to Ukraine’s battered Sumy region.
“After reading the news, they said, ‘We think you can afford more than one transformer,'” he told Kiev24 channel, without identifying the donors.
Earlier this year, Zelenskiy tried to limit the powers of Ukraine’s anti-corruption authorities but backed down on those changes after rare street protests and backlash from European partners.
Political opponents accused him of trying to obstruct the activities of anti-corruption institutions in order to protect their partners, which Zelenskiy vehemently denies.
Timur Mindich is one of the seven suspects identified by prosecutors.
He is co-owner of the influential Kvartal 95 television studio, which produced the popular sitcom that made Zelenskiy famous as a comedian before launching his political career with a successful presidential campaign in 2019.
