Unprecedented corruption scandal opens the gate for major reshuffle of top echelons

UKRAINE - In Brief 19 Nov 2025 by Dmytro Boyarchuk
The huge corruption scandal within the narrow circle of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (referred to as Mindichgate after Timur Mindich, the central figure of the scandal and Zelenskiy’s business partner) is a major upheaval for both Ukraine’s domestic politics and its international standing amid the confrontation with Russian aggression. To a large extent, the facts released by anti-corruption bodies about large-scale schemes clearly explain why the President’s Office launched an utterly silly attack on anti-corruption institutions this summer, provoking a strong backlash from society and the EU. Still, even with an understanding that rent-seeking schemes were operating with the blessing of the President’s Office, it was shocking to read the details of how this group siphoned off public funds intended for protective structures for energy infrastructure, leaving significant parts of it exposed to Russian air strikes. This was especially epic amid intensified air raids and severe electricity shortages Ukraine is currently experiencing. Russian spies would not have caused as much damage as Zelenskiy’s close associates did through their greed and disregard for the country’s fate. Despite the scale of the scandal being unprecedented and anti-corruption bodies announcing that more facts will be released later (allegedly concerning corruption in weapons procurement), I would argue that the story is developing in a healthy way and, despite the overwhelmingly dramatic situation Ukraine is facing, it has already produced several positive outcomes. Firstly, there will be no street protests related to this scandal. The revealed facts clearly show that anti-corruption institutions a...

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