According to him, the aggressor country of the Russian Federation, which has previously tried at various levels to undermine the status of Ukraine in the eyes of its allies, can also actively take advantage of the situation.
“Such a risk exists. We need to think about this and not give ourselves an additional reason that will make the task easier for our enemy. Predictably, he has already begun such work through a system of bots that further “increase” negativity in society. Purposeful work is also being carried out on our partners, saying that it is impossible to deal with Ukraine,” Budanov explained.
He added that a corruption scandal could really have negative consequences for Ukraine.
Budanov also noted that people who deliberately committed corrupt acts, especially during the war, “must be deliberately punished.”
Context
On November 10, NABU announced Operation Midas to expose a “high-level criminal organization” that was engaged in extortion at Energoatom. According to the investigation, the state-owned company's contractors were offered to pay a kickback of 10% to 15% for goods and services, threatening to block payments from the budget or break off cooperation.
Investigative actions were also carried out against the current Minister of Justice. German Galushchenko (ex-head of the Ministry of Energy), who is called Professor and Sigismund in NABU wiretaps. In general, four ministers from different parts of the Ukrainian government are involved in the Energoatom case, the head of the NABU detective department, Alexander Abakumov, told Ukrainskaya Pravda. In particular, NABU reported suspicion of illegal enrichment to former Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Alexey Chernyshov. The SAPS will request arrest for him.
People's Deputy from “Voice” Yaroslav Zheleznyak accused the head of the Ministry of Energy Svetlana Grinchuk of involvement in this story. She replied that she “didn’t understand the claims.” However, after a video message from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on November 12, in which he said that, in his opinion, Galushchenko and Grinchuk “cannot remain in their positions,” the energy minister wrote a letter of resignation. It was also written by Galushchenko. It is planned that the Rada will consider them on November 18.
The head of European diplomacy, Kaya Kallas, called the corruption scandal in the Ukrainian Energoatom extremely unfortunate.
The media wrote that possible corruption at Energoatom puts the EU in an awkward position amid the process of Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. European allies are demanding an explanation from Ukraine over an energy corruption scandal, Politico reported on November 14.
