Two Ukrainian Ministers Resign After £76m Energy Corruption Probe Linked to Zelensky Ally

Two ministers step down amid sweeping energy-sector corruption investigation

Two senior Ukrainian ministers — Justice Minister German Galushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk — resigned on Wednesday after President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly urged them to step aside amid an anti-corruption probe that investigators say channelled about £76 million through the energy sector.

“The minister of justice and the minister of energy cannot remain in their positions,” Mr Zelensky said in a short video posted on the social platform X. He added: “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.”

Anti-corruption authorities allege the scheme was organised by businessman Timur Mindich, described by investigators as a close ally of Mr Zelensky. According to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, roughly £76m passed through a network of payments that targeted state-controlled energy firms, including the nuclear operator Energoatom. Authorities have charged seven people and say the operation involved about 70 searches over a 15-month investigation.

Investigators allege Mr Galushchenko received “personal benefits” from Mr Mindich in exchange for influence over energy-sector money flows. Mr Mindich reportedly left the country hours before police executed a search of his Kyiv apartment. Mr Galushchenko and Ms Hrynchuk have not been formally charged; both deny wrongdoing and say they will contest the allegations. Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said Mr Galushchenko had been suspended and announced personal sanctions against Mr Mindich and another charged businessman, Oleksandr Tsukerman.

The probe has heightened public sensitivity because many Ukrainians currently endure daily power cuts after repeated Russian strikes on energy infrastructure. The investigation also comes as Kyiv seeks to demonstrate it is tackling corruption in order to strengthen its case for European Union accession — a process that was already under scrutiny after earlier attempts to curb the independence of two anti-corruption bodies drew criticism in Brussels and at home.

Images released by NABU showed bags of dollar and euro banknotes, though the agency did not specify where the cash had been recovered. The recent high-profile detentions include the arrest last month of Volodymyr Kudrytsky, the former head of national grid operator Ukrenergo, who was held on embezzlement charges; he and his allies deny the accusations and have called the actions politically motivated.

Observers say the resignations and the wider probe mark a sensitive moment for the Zelensky administration: officials must balance an urgent need to maintain public trust in wartime with the political and diplomatic imperative to show robustness in fighting corruption. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine is approaching its fourth year, and Moscow continues to control around a fifth of Ukrainian territory amid ongoing battles in regions such as Donetsk.

Photo credit: State Emergency Service of Ukraine in the Odesa region (image circulated by investigators).