Rage, panic, and a glimmer of hope in Ukraine as corruption scandal unfolds
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky listens during a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Oct. 31, 2025, amid the Russian invasion. (Tetiana Dzhafarova / AFP via Getty Images)
Ukraine is being rocked by the biggest corruption scandal of President Volodymyr Zelensky's term.
In the halls of power in Kyiv, the mood is one of dread and uncertainty about what to expect next.
"It's a huge blow, but the worst part of it is that I'm not sure that we are at the end of it, it might still be unfolding," a pro-government Ukrainian lawmaker speaking on condition of anonymity told the Kyiv Independent.
"What I would recommend the president to do right now is to take serious action and get rid of lots of people in his entourage," they added.
The scandal centres on an investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), which alleges that Timur Mindich, a close ally of Zelensky, led a group getting kickbacks from energy construction and procurement, including building defenses for Ukraine's energy infrastructure, and laundering the proceeds.
Several other figures in the Zelensky government are implicated, and two ministers — Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk — have already resigned as a result.
The timing could not be worse for Ukraine as it heads into what will likely be the most difficult winter since the launch of Russia's full-scale invasion.
Across the country, people already face chronic power outages, and Russia's ever-escalating attacks on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure threaten not only the supply of electricity but also gas, heating, and even water.
On the front lines, Russia's now years-long grinding advances in Donetsk Oblast are threatening to consume the fortress city of Pokrovsk in the coming weeks.
It's no surprise then that the revelation that while soldiers and civilians suffer the hardships of war, the news that some of those in power have been enriching themselves has caused mass outrage.
"This is the mentality that comes from the USSR, that those people who are in power always want to benefit from their position and always try to steal something."
"This war will take away most of the active, honest, and decent people — of which most of us are," military volunteer Mariia Berlinska wrote in an eviscerating op-ed for Ukrainska Pravda.
"It hurts to believe that at the same time, the president's friends are paying for their whores, expensive cars, and spending hundreds of millions of our money on new villas."
Similar sentiments can be found everywhere on the streets of Kyiv.
"While Ukrainians sit without electricity for 16 hours a day, they launder money," Kyiv student Elizaveta Demidova told the Kyiv Independent.
"It's not acceptable at all. I think this is the mentality that comes from the USSR, that those people who are in power always want to benefit from their position and always try to steal something," she added.
Others are directing their ire at Zelensky himself, who, despite not being named in the investigation so far, is unlikely to survive unscathed given his closeness to those involved.
"Our president knew everything about all of this," a Kyiv tour guide, Yevhen Makovsky, emotionally told the Kyiv Independent.
But despite the gravity of the crisis engulfing Ukraine's leadership, there is a glimmer of optimism that such an investigation shows the country's democratic, investigative, and legal processes are alive and healthy.
"I sincerely hope that the next step will show that institutions are working in our state, and the proof of this is that every corrupt scoundrel will be punished by the law, rather than by angry and armed people."
The very fact that an Anti-Corruption Bureau investigation exists at all is largely down to mass public protests over the summer in reaction to the president signing a bill that would have effectively destroyed two of Ukraine's key anti-corruption bodies, including NABU.
"If people had not taken to the streets then, this criminal case would have simply been closed," 24-year-old veteran Liubomyr Dmytryshyn told the Kyiv Independent.
In this case, the government backed down and reinstated both bodies, but Ukraine's youthful 33-year history is littered with examples of the bloody price its people have had to pay for democracy, most notably the 2014 EuroMaidan Revolution, and the ongoing fight against Russia.
"We are going through a painful process of understanding the value of our own state, from personal survival to the realization that the source of power in it is people protesting with cardboard signs," Architect, a 32-year-old drone operator in Ukraine's Armed Forces, told the Kyiv Independent.
"I sincerely hope that the next step will show that institutions are working in our state, and the proof of this is that every corrupt scoundrel will be punished by the law, rather than by angry and armed people."
This sentiment was echoed by Oleksandra Matviichuk, a human rights lawyer and a Nobel Prize laureate, who, in a Facebook post, compared corruption to cancer.
"Cancer should be detected, and preferably at an early stage. It can and should be fought with. In light of recent news, I am warmed by the example of people who just did their jobs honestly," she said, adding: "So like a lot of people I'm not going to give up."
Denys Kovalenko, a judge who lives in Kyiv, told the Kyiv Independent that although the news "made me mad," people shouldn't lose focus and be distracted from the fight against Russia.
"We have to discuss how to help the army, how to raise funds, and where to direct them. And corruption should be dealt with by the bodies that deal with it," he said.
But regardless of whether Ukraine's wheels of justice function as they should, many are concerned that the reputational damage from the scandal could affect international support.
Taras Chmut, the head of the Come Back Alive charity foundation, believes it won't affect the support from individuals in foreign countries, as they understand that "they are donating to the soldiers, not to the state."
He does, however, have concerns about the response from Western politicians.
"The issue of corruption in Ukraine always arises at international meetings," he told the Kyiv Independent.
"(A negative reaction on the political level) would be worse, because the trust of the state drops from the view of our partners — this is bad."
The Kyiv Independent asked military volunteer Maria Berlinska if she was concerned about the scandal affecting Western support for Ukraine.
"My comment is very simple: Europe should still support Ukraine, because otherwise they will be next, and they will be fucked," she said.
