- - Energy scandal spells trouble for Zelensky as Ukrainians face another winter of power cuts

Analysis by Andrew Carey, CNNNovember 14, 2025 at 1:05 AM

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, on October 31. - Alina Smutko/Reuters

When Vladimir Putin first started targeting the Ukrainian energy sector, it did not have the impact the Kremlin wanted. Ukraine’s ability to withstand the Russian campaign, and carefully ration its power supplies, served only to cement its leader Volodymyr Zelensky’s credibility at home.

Three years on, the picture is rather more difficult. Ukraine’s president finds himself under fire over a burgeoning energy sector corruption scandal, while his people face a fourth tough winter, with power cuts and heating outages as severe as ever.

On the battlefield, Ukrainian forces find themselves losing ground across the east, most critically in the one-time logistics hub of Pokrovsk, as key Western allies appear to be focused elsewhere. The war may still be Ukraine’s overriding priority, but corruption is likely Zelensky’s most immediate concern.

The scandal, which centers on alleged kickbacks from contractors including those working to protect critical energy infrastructure, has already taken down two of Zelensky’s ministers and embroiled a former business associate from his days in the entertainment industry.

On Wednesday, the government announced it was suspending German Galushchenko, the justice minister, who previously served as energy minister. Galushchenko said he would defend himself in the face of the allegations. Both he and his successor as energy minister have since submitted their resignations at Zelensky’s urging; swift parliamentary approval is expected.

German Galushchenko, the former Ukrainian energy minister speaks at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin, Germany, on June 11, 2024. - Annegret Hilse/Reuters

Earlier this week, Ukraine’s anti-corruption body announced it had carried out searches on dozens of properties – including one linked to Galushchenko – as part of an investigation into the alleged kickbacks.

Investigators said about $100 million had been siphoned off – between 10-15% of the value of the contracts – as state-owned businesses including Energoatom, which operates Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, paid companies for work done to enhance security at key sites.

That the latest corruption scandal involves the energy sector gives it a particular edge. People in Kyiv are currently without electricity for eight to 11 hours per day, a result of Russia’s improved ability to strike power plants and substations.

Diesel generators, purchased during the first blackouts three years ago, have reappeared outside shops and cafes. Candlelit dinners have again become part of the daily routine.

The blackouts can also mean heating is off, lifts in high-rise buildings do not work, and water supply is interrupted. The situation is usually worse in towns and cities outside the capital.

A fruit and vegetable stall is lit by small lamps during a blackout in a residential neighborhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, on November 6. - Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto/Getty ImagesZelensky name-checked in court

Court hearings on the investigation – live streamed on the public broadcaster’s website – have been underway in Kyiv since Tuesday and look set to continue for at least the next few days. They include snippets of what investigators say are 1,000 hours of recorded conversations between the suspects in the case.

In a potentially damaging first, one of the conversations released Wednesday name-checked Zelensky himself. In a transcript read out in court, the man accused of masterminding the corruption scheme, Timur Mindich, appeared to suggest he had influence over the president, boasting to Galushchenko of his success in getting Zelensky to call the then-energy minister on the phone and invite him for a meeting.

The transcript contained no details of that alleged call, and Zelensky has made no comment. It is believed to be the first time his name has been mentioned, albeit indirectly, in a corruption case in Ukraine.

And then there is Mindich himself, perhaps the most awkward element in all this as far as Ukraine’s leader is concerned.

Given the codename Carlson by his alleged co-conspirators, Mindich is a former business partner of Zelensky, dating back to his previous career as a highly successful entertainer and producer.

Mindich himself has made no comment on the accusations against him and has left the country, Ukraine’s state border agency said in a statement late Wednesday. The agency noted he had left legally, adding they had not received an order to stop him. Zelensky’s cabinet has now introduced sanctions on Mindich, which include a block on his business interests and bank accounts.

Defeating Russia and tackling corruption

Corruption allegations are nothing new in Ukraine. During the first months of Moscow’s full scale invasion, there was an unwritten understanding among Ukraine’s journalists and civil society that corruption investigations were not a priority. Defeating Russia was the only thing that mattered.

That consensus began to decay after about a year. Since 2023, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has opened investigations into a series of scandals, including an illegal land development project involving a deputy prime minister and the embezzlement of public funds allocated to pay for soldiers’ food.

So far, Zelensky has managed to avoid getting dragged into the scandals, though Ukrainians put him on notice in the summer with large anti-government protests – the biggest since the full scale invasion – after he approved a parliamentary move to neuter NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. He backed down under pressure from key international allies, who have made anti-corruption an important plank of their long-term support for Kyiv.

Tymofiy Mylovanov, a former minister under Zelensky and now head of the Kyiv School of Economics, told CNN the president had to “act as harshly as possible” if he wanted to maintain popular support among Ukrainians. “(People) say, ‘Let’s see how he acts… if he’s not acting, then he’s with them (the accused). We’ll know if he’s acting… but if he really sanctions them, arrests them, prosecutes those who allow this to happen, then, okay, he’s good.’”

Tymofiy Mylovanov, president of the Kyiv School of Economics and a former Ukrainian government minister, attends a press conference in Kyiv on June 15, 2021. - Ukrinform/Shutterstock

Until Tuesday, Mylovanov was a member of the supervisory board of Energoatom, before resigning his position over what he said was the failure of company executives to act rapidly on the scandal, though he blamed the foot-dragging on cluelessness rather than corruption.

It is too soon to assess whether this corruption scandal will cause any lasting damage to Zelensky’s support among Ukrainians. Recent polling conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, albeit before the latest allegations, shows popular levels of trust in the Ukrainian leader remaining at around 60% – down on the figures for earlier this year, but consistent with the levels enjoyed in 2024.

Tolerance of corruption has declined over the same period, though not dramatically.

Andy Hunder, who leads the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, said it was essential that those who were stealing from the state were held fully accountable.

“This is a critical moment for Ukraine’s leadership to show that its commitment to integrity and accountability is unwavering,” he told CNN.

Mylovanov took a more pessimistic view of how the corruption scandal would likely play with the Trump administration, regardless of how Zelensky acts.

“I don’t know if they care or not,” he said. “But they will use it as a leverage point over Zelensky.”

Victoria Butenko and Svitlana Vlasova contributed reporting.

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