Corruption problems are Zelensky's problems. “NYT”: The scandal hits him directly

The American newspaper “New York Times” wrote on Friday that the corruption scandal surrounding the Ukrainian company Enerhoatom is shaking the closest circle of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to the newspaper, this is “a significant turn in the career of the leader who announced that he would clean up national politics.”

“Can you become president and not steal?” – this joke of the later president of Ukraine from the time when he was running for the highest office in the country, begins the “NYT” article.

“It's a rhetorical question, because no one has tried it yet,” answered the then actor, known primarily for his comedy roles.

The American daily recalled that promises to fight corruption largely contributed to Zelensky's victory in the 2019 presidential election and “consolidated his political position before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.”

According to “NYT”, the corruption investigation, which covered people from the Ukrainian leader's inner circle, now threatens not only support for Zelensky in the country, but also abroad. According to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), irregularities in the operation of the state energy company Enerhoatom – according to preliminary estimates – could have cost the Ukrainian budget up to several hundred million dollars.

According to Ukrainian investigators, the criminal organization, headed by Timur Mindych, a close associate of Zelensky and in the past a producer of films featuring him, siphoned and then laundered at least $100 million from Enerhoatom, the operator of Ukrainian nuclear power plants, and also committed other frauds and financial crimes.

“NYT” recalled that NABU, whose competences Zelensky tried to limit in July, but were ultimately maintained as a result of, among others, social protests and pressure from the West, published the content of wiretapping recordings on the Internet. They show that those involved in the practice included, among others: Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko and Svitlana Hrynchuk, head of the Ministry of Energy, who resigned after the scandal broke, as well as former deputy prime minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, who lost his position during the summer government reconstruction. Mindycz himself was said to have escaped from Ukraine through Poland to another country just before his house was searched.

The American newspaper emphasized that although the Ukrainian president is not directly involved in the case, and he himself has declared full support for the actions of “law enforcement agencies and anti-corruption service officers”, – as “NYT” wrote – he is no longer perceived by a large part of his compatriots as “a leader who was supposed to open Ukrainian politics to people outside the circle of oligarchs”, but as “a figure operating in a small, closed circle, unrestricted by any rules”.

According to “NYT”, the publication of the contents of the NABU wiretaps increases the pressure on Zelensky, because – as the American daily wrote – it has not been revealed how far the investigation goes. On the one hand, the newspaper noted the Ukrainian leader's declaration of breaking off contacts with the officials involved in the case. On the other hand, she recalled that in July, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), which reports directly to Zelensky, torpedoed NABU's activities when one of Mindycz's relatives was arrested as part of the investigation. Among other things, NABU officials were accused of acting under Russian inspiration or of being outright Russian agents.

The American daily also reported that it tried to contact Mindycz for a comment on the allegations against him, but without success. The newspaper also recalled the reactions of politicians from Western countries, who once again called on the Ukrainian authorities to fight corruption more decisively. (PAP)

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