US$100 Million Corruption Scandal Amid Ukraine's War Shakes Zelenskyy's Government

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy/PHOTO via X @ZelenskyyUa

JAKARTA - Along with the Russian attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure that caused a rotating blackout ahead of winter, the massive embezzlement and bribery scandal involving the country's nuclear power company has put high-ranking officials under intense scrutiny.

As reported by the Associated Press, Thursday, November 13, the scandal has quickly become one of the most significant government crises since Moscow's massive invasion, with media reports mentioning the involvement of close associates to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Responding to the public's reaction, Zelenskyy called for the sacking of his justice and energy minister amid the investigation. They then submitted their resignation, the prime minister said.

The agency's same anti-corruption supervisory agency that Zelenskyy wanted to weaken earlier this year revealed investigative findings for 15 months, including 1,000 hours of wiretapping, resulting in the detention of five people, and seven others linked to bribes of around $100 million in the energy sector.

Ukrainian officials are struggling to get European funding to address the increasingly severe shortage of energy. Meanwhile, Moscow is targeting critical infrastructure and natural gas production to try to undermine public morale.

On the battlefield, Ukrainian troops who are outnumbered continue to retreat under intense attacks in a war that has lasted nearly 4 years.

The country has been hit by corruption since independence, and Zelenskyy was elected with the mandate to eradicate corruption. The military procurement scandal led to the sacking of Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov in 2023.

Internally, this scandal will be used to undermine domestic unity and stability. Externally, our enemies will use it as an argument to stop aid to Ukraine, "said Oleksandr Merezhko, a lawmaker from Zelenskyy's party.

"This looks very bad in the eyes of our European and American partners. While Russia is destroying our power grid and the people have to bear the power outages, someone at the helm actually steals money during the war," he continued.