Ukraine's army chief visits besieged city as Zelenskyy confronts graft scandal
Zelenskyy fires ministers as outrage grows over Ukraine energy corruption scandal
- Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's administration is facing a corruption scandal, leading to the resignations of justice and energy ministers and the dismissal of key officials at the state-owned nuclear power company, Energoatom.
- The scandal involves an alleged $100 million kickback scheme, with a Kyiv court hearing evidence from a 15-month investigation that has led to five detentions and implicated seven others, including Tymur Mindich, a co-owner of Zelenskyy's media company, as the suspected mastermind.
- The unfolding corruption has raised questions about the knowledge of high-ranking officials and past attempts to curtail anti-corruption watchdogs, though the European Union has pledged continued financial support, including a 6 billion euros loan.
- Concurrently, Ukraine's top military commander, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, visited troops on the front line in Pokrovsk, a key eastern city in the Donetsk region, to coordinate operations amid intense street battles with Russian forces.
- Syrskyi stated that Ukrainian forces are fighting to prevent encirclement and regain control of certain areas, while denying any Russian control over Pokrovsk or the operational encirclement of Ukrainian defence forces in the area.