Mark MacKinnon
Senior International Correspondent
London
Nov 14, 2025,
There’s never a good time for a scandal that forces the resignation of two cabinet ministers and calls into question the credibility of a government. But the timing of the corruption allegations rocking Ukraine’s wartime leadership could hardly be worse.
The country’s military is slowly losing ground to the invading Russian army, with videos emerging this week of small groups of enemy forces entering the key front line city of Pokrovsk after a 15-month battle. Relentless air strikes targeting energy infrastructure in Kyiv and other cities have caused prolonged blackouts in recent weeks, as the fourth winter of the war nears.
And now comes a US$100-million corruption scandal, which has sparked an uproar inside Ukraine and rattled Western confidence in President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government just as Kyiv needs the West’s help more than ever.
One of the key figures implicated in the scheme is a long-time member of the President’s inner circle. Worse still, the scandal emanates from the same energy sector that Russia has been targeting with drone and missile attacks.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine announced Monday that it had arrested five people in connection with the scheme, which allegedly involved kickbacks of 10 to 15 per cent extracted from contractors dealing with Energoatom, the state nuclear company. NABU officers raided dozens of properties in the culmination of a 15-month investigation.
The fallout has already forced the resignations of both justice minister German Galuschchenko and energy minister Svitlana Grynchuk.
“The fact that it was not only about kickbacks, but in the energy sphere – at the time when Russia clearly declares its goal to freeze Ukrainians into capitulation – that’s something which is absolutely unacceptable for me,” said Olena Halushka, a veteran anti-corruption activist and a co-founder of the International Centre for Ukrainian Victory, an NGO that works to rally Western support for Kyiv.
Wednesday was another long and dangerous night in the Ukrainian capital, as Russia again attacked the city’s energy infrastructure, damaging the electricity distribution network as well as a thermal power plant. At least six people were killed in an hours-long attack that involved 430 drones and 18 missiles.
As Kyiv counted its casualties and swept up the rubble Thursday morning, Ms. Halushka was nearly as angry with her own government as she was at the Russian military.
“This war of attrition cannot be won with schemes like Energoatom,” she said, adding that the scandal was damaging her organization’s efforts to convince Western countries to use US$300-billion in frozen Russian assets to help rebuild Ukraine. “I’m already seeing Ukraine skeptics saying: ‘Why should we take the risks of confiscating money if Ukraine isn’t doing their best?’”
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Wednesday that Canada’s support for Ukraine would not be affected by the graft allegations, but she called for Mr. Zelensky to pursue “continued reform” to ensure “transparency, accountability and good governance.” Ottawa has provided Kyiv with almost $22-billion in various types of assistance since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Ukraine has weathered previous wartime corruption headlines, including a 2023 scandal that forced the resignation of defence minister Oleksii Reznikov over a kickback scheme that inflated the price of food provided to the country’s military.
The latest NABU accusations are potentially even more damaging. The bureau alleges that the mastermind of the plot is businessman Timur Mindich, a friend and business associate of Mr. Zelensky’s. Mr. Mindich is the co-owner of the Kvartal 95 film and TV production company that Mr. Zelensky co-founded and used to build his television career before going into politics.
Ukrainian media have reported that Mr. Mindich fled the country before the NABU raid, sparking speculation that he had been tipped off.
Ms. Halushka said Mr. Zelensky’s response to the scandal so far was “absolutely not enough” and called for him to also dismiss Prosecutor-General Ruslan Kravchenko, as well as Mr. Zelensky’s own powerful chief of staff, Andriy Yermak. “This scandal must trigger change in the existing approach to the governance of Ukraine,” she said.
There is no suggestion that Mr. Zelensky was personally involved in the Energoatom affair. In a Wednesday night video address, he said he had personally demanded the resignations of Mr. Galuschchenko and Ms. Grynchuk.
“This is, among other things, a matter of trust. If there are accusations, they must be addressed,” Mr. Zelensky said. “Right now, it is extremely difficult for everyone in Ukraine – enduring power outages, Russian strikes, and losses. It is absolutely unacceptable that, amid all this, there are also some schemes in the energy sector.”
It was Mr. Zelensky, however, who in July tried to curb the power of NABU by seeking to put the bureau under the control of the Prosecutor-General, who is a political appointee. The move sparked days of protests in Kyiv, the largest since the start of the Russian invasion, before Mr. Zelensky was forced to back down.
Olena Tregub, another long-time anti-corruption activist and founder of the Independent Defense Anti-Corruption Commission, said the entire episode proves Ukrainian democracy is still functioning.
“This investigation became possible only because Ukrainian citizens mobilized this summer to defend the independence of the anti-corruption institutions,” Ms. Tregub wrote in a social media post. “The President backed down, stopped the attempts to dismantle these bodies, and allowed investigations to proceed even against his own close associates and senior officials.”
The question is whether Ukraine’s supporters in the West will spot that silver lining. European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has called the scandal “extremely unfortunate,” since the money that was allegedly siphoned off was “the people’s money that should go to the front lines.”
The Energoatom allegations seem likely to feed skepticism, particularly in Washington, about the effectiveness of providing assistance to Ukraine.
The NABU investigation came to light just days after U.S. President Donald Trump chuckled in apparent agreement with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who said during a White House meeting that it would take a “miracle” for Ukraine to win the war with Russia. There are now fears that Mr. Trump could use the corruption scandal as an excuse to abandon Ukraine to its fate.
“Every day since Trump took office,” Ms. Halushka said, “would be a bad day for a scandal.”
www.theglobeandmail.com
Senior International Correspondent
London
Nov 14, 2025,
There’s never a good time for a scandal that forces the resignation of two cabinet ministers and calls into question the credibility of a government. But the timing of the corruption allegations rocking Ukraine’s wartime leadership could hardly be worse.
The country’s military is slowly losing ground to the invading Russian army, with videos emerging this week of small groups of enemy forces entering the key front line city of Pokrovsk after a 15-month battle. Relentless air strikes targeting energy infrastructure in Kyiv and other cities have caused prolonged blackouts in recent weeks, as the fourth winter of the war nears.
And now comes a US$100-million corruption scandal, which has sparked an uproar inside Ukraine and rattled Western confidence in President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government just as Kyiv needs the West’s help more than ever.
One of the key figures implicated in the scheme is a long-time member of the President’s inner circle. Worse still, the scandal emanates from the same energy sector that Russia has been targeting with drone and missile attacks.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine announced Monday that it had arrested five people in connection with the scheme, which allegedly involved kickbacks of 10 to 15 per cent extracted from contractors dealing with Energoatom, the state nuclear company. NABU officers raided dozens of properties in the culmination of a 15-month investigation.
The fallout has already forced the resignations of both justice minister German Galuschchenko and energy minister Svitlana Grynchuk.
“The fact that it was not only about kickbacks, but in the energy sphere – at the time when Russia clearly declares its goal to freeze Ukrainians into capitulation – that’s something which is absolutely unacceptable for me,” said Olena Halushka, a veteran anti-corruption activist and a co-founder of the International Centre for Ukrainian Victory, an NGO that works to rally Western support for Kyiv.
Wednesday was another long and dangerous night in the Ukrainian capital, as Russia again attacked the city’s energy infrastructure, damaging the electricity distribution network as well as a thermal power plant. At least six people were killed in an hours-long attack that involved 430 drones and 18 missiles.
As Kyiv counted its casualties and swept up the rubble Thursday morning, Ms. Halushka was nearly as angry with her own government as she was at the Russian military.
“This war of attrition cannot be won with schemes like Energoatom,” she said, adding that the scandal was damaging her organization’s efforts to convince Western countries to use US$300-billion in frozen Russian assets to help rebuild Ukraine. “I’m already seeing Ukraine skeptics saying: ‘Why should we take the risks of confiscating money if Ukraine isn’t doing their best?’”
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Wednesday that Canada’s support for Ukraine would not be affected by the graft allegations, but she called for Mr. Zelensky to pursue “continued reform” to ensure “transparency, accountability and good governance.” Ottawa has provided Kyiv with almost $22-billion in various types of assistance since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Ukraine has weathered previous wartime corruption headlines, including a 2023 scandal that forced the resignation of defence minister Oleksii Reznikov over a kickback scheme that inflated the price of food provided to the country’s military.
The latest NABU accusations are potentially even more damaging. The bureau alleges that the mastermind of the plot is businessman Timur Mindich, a friend and business associate of Mr. Zelensky’s. Mr. Mindich is the co-owner of the Kvartal 95 film and TV production company that Mr. Zelensky co-founded and used to build his television career before going into politics.
Ukrainian media have reported that Mr. Mindich fled the country before the NABU raid, sparking speculation that he had been tipped off.
Ms. Halushka said Mr. Zelensky’s response to the scandal so far was “absolutely not enough” and called for him to also dismiss Prosecutor-General Ruslan Kravchenko, as well as Mr. Zelensky’s own powerful chief of staff, Andriy Yermak. “This scandal must trigger change in the existing approach to the governance of Ukraine,” she said.
There is no suggestion that Mr. Zelensky was personally involved in the Energoatom affair. In a Wednesday night video address, he said he had personally demanded the resignations of Mr. Galuschchenko and Ms. Grynchuk.
“This is, among other things, a matter of trust. If there are accusations, they must be addressed,” Mr. Zelensky said. “Right now, it is extremely difficult for everyone in Ukraine – enduring power outages, Russian strikes, and losses. It is absolutely unacceptable that, amid all this, there are also some schemes in the energy sector.”
It was Mr. Zelensky, however, who in July tried to curb the power of NABU by seeking to put the bureau under the control of the Prosecutor-General, who is a political appointee. The move sparked days of protests in Kyiv, the largest since the start of the Russian invasion, before Mr. Zelensky was forced to back down.
Olena Tregub, another long-time anti-corruption activist and founder of the Independent Defense Anti-Corruption Commission, said the entire episode proves Ukrainian democracy is still functioning.
“This investigation became possible only because Ukrainian citizens mobilized this summer to defend the independence of the anti-corruption institutions,” Ms. Tregub wrote in a social media post. “The President backed down, stopped the attempts to dismantle these bodies, and allowed investigations to proceed even against his own close associates and senior officials.”
The question is whether Ukraine’s supporters in the West will spot that silver lining. European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has called the scandal “extremely unfortunate,” since the money that was allegedly siphoned off was “the people’s money that should go to the front lines.”
The Energoatom allegations seem likely to feed skepticism, particularly in Washington, about the effectiveness of providing assistance to Ukraine.
The NABU investigation came to light just days after U.S. President Donald Trump chuckled in apparent agreement with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who said during a White House meeting that it would take a “miracle” for Ukraine to win the war with Russia. There are now fears that Mr. Trump could use the corruption scandal as an excuse to abandon Ukraine to its fate.
“Every day since Trump took office,” Ms. Halushka said, “would be a bad day for a scandal.”
Ukraine corruption scandal is rattling the West’s confidence in Zelensky’s government
Alleged mastermind of the scheme is a close associate of Zelensky
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