Ukraine's energy, justice ministers resign as corruption allegations shake Kiev

Ukraine’s energy and justice ministers offered their resignations on Wednesday, shortly after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said both should go over their alleged involvement in a sweeping corruption scandal in the country’s energy sector.

Investigators earlier alleged a key Zelenskyy ally orchestrated a $100-million kickback scheme to siphon funds, triggering public anger at a time of widespread power outages caused by Russian attacks.

Ukraine has long been plagued by corruption and cracking down on graft is seen as a key requirement of its bid to join the European Union.

Zelenskyy said his Justice Minister German Galushchenko, whom investigators allege was involved in the scheme and received “personal benefits”, as well as Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk, should tender their resignations.

Neither is known to have been charged and Grynchuk has not been mentioned as having profited from the scheme.

“The minister of justice and the minister of energy cannot remain in their positions,” Zelenskyy said in a video posted on social media.

Shortly after, both submitted letters of resignation, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.

The scandal has triggered outcry among Ukrainians, who are suffering frequent heating and electricity outages from the Russian bombings.

“It’s disgusting,” Davyd, a 24-year-old content creator, told AFP, declining to give his surname.

“They’re destroying us, our reputation, and our future. We won’t have a future if we have crooks like that,” he said, expressing concern over how the scandal would play among Kiev’s crucial backers in the EU.

People “raise as much money as possible to help the (army), and they are just hiding the money in their basements,” he added.

“Why do they do this?”

‘Internal enemies’

The allegations, unveiled earlier this week, centre on kickbacks from contracts involving Energoatom, the state nuclear operator and the country’s most important electricity provider.

Grynchuk replaced Galushchenko as energy minister in the summer.

Ukraine’s parliament needs to formally approve both their resignations.

Olena Boikova, 57, a retiree, said she felt “indignation” and called those implicated in the scheme “internal enemies”.

Ordering the ministers to step down, Zelenskyy said it was “absolutely unacceptable that there are still some (corruption) schemes in the energy sector” while Ukrainians are facing daily outages from Russian attacks.

Russia has battered Ukraine’s energy grid with nightly drone and missile strikes in what Kiev calls cynical attacks that seek to plunge millions of Ukrainians into the darkness and cold through the winter.

Investigators say the scheme was masterminded by Timur Mindich, a former business associate of Zelenskyy.

Mindich co-owns the production company Kvartal 95, founded by Zelenskyy when he was a star comedian before entering politics.

He fled the country shortly before the allegations were announced on Monday, the state border service said.

Zelenskyy has not commented on Mindich’s role in the scheme, but Prime Minister Svyrydenko said she was imposing personal sanctions on him and another businessman charged, Oleksandr Tsukerman.

Kvartal 95, which produced Zelenskyy’s “Servant of the People” TV series, said the probe was not “related to the work of the studio”.

The scandal presents a major test for Zelenskyy, who faces accusations of centralising power and silencing critics after the Russian invasion.

Earlier this year, there was a massive backlash from the public and in Brussels over attempts to strip the independence of the two anti-corruption bodies that are investigating and prosecuting this case.