After acts of sabotage on the Warsaw-Lublin route, Ukraine rapidly offered Poland assistance. "We express solidarity with friendly Poland after sabotage on Polish railways. We hope that the investigation will bring answers and we are ready to aid if needed" - the head of the Ukrainian Ministry of abroad Affairs responded.
However, Ukraine itself present faces an additional, gigantic, problem, and it is not just war. Politically – you can have an impression – until it shakes in jobs.
It was the ultimate Council that voted to dismiss Justice Minister Herman Haluszchenko and energy minister Switlana Hrynchuk. This is the latest installment of the corruption scandal in the energy sector, which Ukraine has been surviving for respective days.
Abuse was detected in the immediate vicinity of president Volodymyr Zelenski.
Operation Midas. That's how they got the lead on a corruption scandal in Ukraine.
"Coruptic bomb ticking", "Gigantic corruption scandal swept distant Ukrainian ministers", "Coruptic scandal puts Zelenski against the wall", "The biggest corruption scandal in Ukraine's history" – the media has been thundering for days.
It all started on 10 November erstwhile the National Anti-corruption Office of Ukraine (NABU) and the peculiar Anti-corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) informed about their findings. And they were shocking.
It turns out that for the past 15 months these services have been conducting Operation Midas. They proved that there was a criminal group operating in Enerhoatom that stole bribes worth at least $100 million from private companies.
"Over 70 searches were conducted, and operational activities included, among others, a friend of the president and his erstwhile business partner Timur Mindicz, Minister of Justice (formerly head of the power department) Herman Hałuszczenko and the seat of the Enerhoatom group (company of atomic power plant operator). 7 people were charged and six were detained," he describes in a detailed analysis of the Center for east Studies.
One of the arrested persons is Oleksiy Chernyszov – erstwhile Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2024 to 25.
"A powerful image problem for Ukrainian president"
When the case came to light, the Enerhoatom Supervisory Board, a state atomic power plant operator, was dismissed. On 18 November, Minister of Justice Herman Haluszchenko and Minister of Energy Switlana Hrynczuk resigned – president Zelenski wanted their resignation.
Today, November 19, the parliament said goodbye to them. It is said that there are recordings to confirm that Minister Hałuszczenko may have been active in irregularities as well. And Hrynchuk was to be in close relations with him.
"The affair is simply a powerful image problem for the president, whom they associate with Mindic. It besides undermines the credibility of Ukraine in the West and the legitimacy of Zelenski within the country. At the same time, it is another installment of the President's Office (BP) confrontation with anti-corruption services, which has been taking place for respective months" - analysed Marcin Jędrysiak, an OSW expert.
He emphasises that the allegations put forward by the surroundings of Zelenski are a large burden on the head of state.
Timur Mindich fled Ukraine. There will be audit in state companies
And it doesn't seem to be the end of the story. Ukrainian Prime Minister Julia Swyridenko has already announced an audit in all state companies and checked their procurement activities.
It is besides known that the main character of the scandal, Timur Mindich, fled the country – reportedly a fewer hours before the service entered his home.
This is besides the case – according to TVN24, another Ukrainian music stars refuse to participate in the December program of Quartet 95, the founder of which was the current president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenski.
