The escalating corruption case surrounding Energoatom in Ukraine has instantly changed the country's political agenda. In an address via Telegram on November 12, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy firmly stated that Minister of Justice Hermann Galushchenko and the acting Minister of Energy Svetlana Grinchuk could not remain in their positions. The head of state called this decision a "confidence question."
According to Zelenskyy, if there are accusations, they must be given a clear answer. Therefore, he asked the Prime Minister to accept the resignation of both ministers and called on the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada to support this decision. The President also announced that he would sign a decree imposing sanctions against two individuals mentioned in the "Energoatom" case.
Although the names were not disclosed, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko soon revealed who these two individuals were: Timur Mindich, the founder of the "Quarter 95" studio, who has been mentioned as close to Zelenskyy, and Alexander Tsukerman, who has financial influence. They left the country shortly before the start of the investigation into Energoatom.
At the same time, Greenchuk also expressed his position - about an hour after the president's address, he announced his resignation. In his Facebook address, he stated that he had not committed any violations during his tenure and that the accusations were unfounded. "Time will put everything in its place," he wrote.
The Prime Minister confirmed the news of Galushchenko's resignation later that day. He stated that he had submitted a proposal to the Verkhovna Rada for their dismissal. Parliamentary voting on this issue is scheduled for November 18.
And the corruption case itself has a very large scale. According to NABU and SAP, a system has been formed at Energoatom to demand from counterparties 10-15 percent of the contract value as a "refund." It is said that an illegal payment was requested to avoid unjustified delays in payments or deprivation of supplier status. As part of the investigation, on November 10, searches were conducted in Galushchenko, Mindich, and the company itself.
On November 11, the Supervisory Board of Energoatom held an extraordinary meeting to discuss the situation. Following this, Prime Minister Sviridenko announced that a decision had been made to terminate the council's powers ahead of schedule.
The current situation demonstrates that the Ukrainian government is pursuing a decisive and responsible policy in the fight against corruption. President Zelenskyy's timely and decisive decisions are further evidence of systemic changes taking place in the country.
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