Ukraine's Big Corruption Scandal Cuts Close To Zelenskyy. Will He Weather It?
People in Ukraine are already living with air-raid alerts, rolling blackouts, and the low thrum of generators. Now there's a new stressor: a graft scandal that reaches into the president's old circle and touches the country's energy lifeline.
The case is called Operation Midas. It's messy, high-stakes, and personal - because the central figure, businessman Tymur Mindich, isn't just any suspect. He's a longtime friend and a former business partner of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (movies and tv series) from their Kvartal 95 days.
What's actually happened
Anti-corruption investigators say they've been digging for 15 months into alleged kickbacks tied to Energoatom, the state nuclear operator. The numbers are eye-watering: 10-15 percent "fees" on contracts, potentially including projects meant to shield energy facilities from Russian strikes. Estimated haul: about $100 million.
Prosecutors reportedly told a court they have a recording in which Zelenskyy is heard speaking to Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko. At the time, Halushchenko was on a group call with Mindich and associate Oleksandr Tsukerman - both now suspects. Details of those exchanges aren't public, and Zelenskyy isn't under investigation. But the optics are rough.
Mindich and Tsukerman left the country shortly before police searches, according to law enforcement sources. That, too, isn't helping confidence.
Why this hits so hard - right now
Look, wartime unity has covered a lot of cracks. Elections are suspended under martial law, and the country's energy system is a constant target. So a scandal tied to the very infrastructure that keeps lights on? It lands with a thud.
It's not only about domestic trust. This will echo in Washington and European capitals where skeptics of Ukraine aid point to corruption. Fair or not, it adds pressure - and could feed calls for Kyiv to make concessions Moscow hasn't earned on the battlefield.
The political risk
Zelenskyy came in as the outsider who promised cleaner government and peace. The full-scale invasion changed everything. Politics took a back seat to survival. Even when the rift with then-top commander Valeriy Zaluzhniy spilled into public view last year, unity mostly held.
This is different. As one Ukrainian political analyst put it, the challenge is finding a balance: pursue a full investigation with real court results while keeping enough stability to avoid a political crisis during the war. That's a thin line to walk.
How Zelenskyy is trying to contain the damage
- He's distancing himself from Mindich and other suspects. On November 13, he imposed sanctions, including asset freezes, on Mindich and Tsukerman.
- He pushed out top energy officials. Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko - suspected of receiving some of the kickbacks - and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk resigned after he called for their removal. Hrynchuk isn't implicated. Both deny wrongdoing.
- He ordered audits of all state-owned companies, a sweeping move meant to show this isn't being shrugged off.
- He's talking directly to allies. After a call with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (movies and tv series), Zelenskyy pledged "full transparency" and support for independent anti-corruption bodies. And in a TV interview, he said, "The most important thing is sentences for those people who are guilty... The president of a country at war cannot have any friends."
If you want the on-record moment, he made those comments to Bloomberg Television.
The agencies at the center
NABU and SAPO - Ukraine's top anti-corruption bodies - have been running this probe quietly for more than a year. That timeline matters. Over the summer, there was a push from Zelenskyy's allies that critics said would have curbed their independence. He backed off after public blowback.
So, yes, there are questions. Did those efforts connect to this case? Maybe it's just timing, but the suspicion is out there. Either way, the integrity of these agencies is now a live issue - and a test of Ukraine's reform path.
For background on the institutions themselves, see the National Anti-Corruption Bureau's official page: nabu.gov.ua.
What to watch next
- Do Mindich and Tsukerman come back to face charges? Or do they fight from abroad?
- Does the government keep hands off NABU and SAPO as the case moves into court?
- Are there more resignations or arrests - especially at senior levels?
- Do we see street protests, or does wartime restraint hold?
- How do U.S. and European lawmakers react as new aid packages are debated?
- And longer-term: if the war's intensity decreases, does this become a central issue in postwar elections?
The human angle
Here's the thing: ordinary Ukrainians don't have patience for pocket-lining right now. Not while crews patch power lines under drone swarms and families keep candles by the sink. Corruption in the energy sector isn't an abstract crime; it's colder apartments and darker streets.
Investigative journalist Yuriy Nikolov put it bluntly: he'd been warning about some of these figures for years. "For me, this is a great relief because it shows the world that we not only have corruption but are also fighting against it," he said in an interview.
Bottom line
This is Zelenskyy's biggest domestic test since 2019. If prosecutors deliver, courts move, and the process stays clean, he can argue the system works even under fire. If it stalls or looks protected - especially where friends are involved - trust erodes fast.
We'll see which story Ukraine writes in the weeks ahead. For now, one truth cuts through: in a war where energy is a weapon, corruption tied to energy is more than scandal. It's a security threat.
