Corruption scandal in Kiev, Zelensky torpedoes two ministers

Operation Midas' is knocking at the door of Volodymyr Zelensky's government. And the Ukrainian president responds, calling for the heads of the Justice and Energy Ministers, who have fallen under the axe of yet another corruption scandal that this time has hit the energy sector, just as Russian raids hammer Ukrainian plants leaving thousands of people in the dark and without heating every day. "If there are accusations, they must be answered," said the Kiev leader, calling on Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko for the resignation of the two government members. Not even two hours later, both resigned their posts: the stakes were too high for the executive, which in its latest clumsy attempt to reform - downwards - the country's anti-corruption agencies unleashed the harshest street protests since the beginning of the war in the summer. And which sees the fight against bribery and malfeasance as one of the keys needed to open the door to the EU for Ukraine.

"The fight against corruption is central to a country's accession to the Union," and the ongoing investigation shows that "anti-corruption bodies are operational" in Kiev, was the comment of a Commission spokesman. The scandal erupted following the maxi-operation launched on Monday by the Ukrainian National Anti-Corruption Bureau (Nabu), which uncovered a bribery scheme in the energy sector involving $100 million in laundered funds. Orchestrating the scheme was allegedly Timur Mindich, a businessman close to Zelensky who, according to the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (Sapo), exploited "friendly relations with the president of Ukraine" in his criminal activities. Of him, all traces were lost for the time being: with perfect timing, Mindich left Ukraine a few hours before the searches that triggered the operations. Sapo, on the other hand, accused German Galushchenko - who before heading the Ministry of Justice was Head of Energy for four years - of having received 'personal benefits' from Mindich in exchange for control over the flow of money in the energy sector.

The government's response was firm: after sacking the supervisory board of Energoatom, an agency that is one of the pillars of the corruption scheme, the premier first suspended Galushchenko and then pushed him to resign along with his Energy colleague Svitlana Grynchuk, who nevertheless defended herself by saying that 'there were no violations of the law' in her activities. But for Zelensky, words were not enough: 'There must be the highest integrity in the energy sector. I support every investigation conducted by anti-corruption officials,' the Ukrainian president stressed, announcing sanctions for two people involved in the case.

The situation in Ukraine 'is extremely difficult for everyone', recalled the Kiev leader: Russian raids on Ukrainian energy infrastructure continue. And on the Pokrovsk front, the commander of the armed forces Oleksandr Syrsky visited the troops and repeated that the city is not encircled and has not fallen. But the Russians send reinforcements and attack, while the shortage of troops pushes the Ukrainian city to the brink. It is no better in Zaporizhzhia, where Kiev troops have withdrawn from another village, the sixth in two days. Meanwhile, diplomacy remains stalled. And in the pendulum of the Trump administration, which swings between flattery and 'disappointment' for Vladimir Putin, London has tried to run for cover by attempting to reopen a direct dialogue under the table with Moscow after years of frost: this was revealed by the Financial Times, according to which the move by Keir Starmer's government was intended to give greater voice to Western positions on the war, effectively bypassing the United States. An approach, however, that failed, as confirmed by Dmitry Peskov: 'Dialogue did not develop,' the Kremlin spokesman cut it short. While from the G7 in Canada, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed that the US encourages Russia 'to engage directly with Ukraine for peace'. A position also supported by Italy: 'It is a matter of common sense,' Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said.

Moscow-London, failed attempts at contact