Ministers resign over major graft probe – DW – 11/12/2025

European Union foreign policy head Kaja Kallas told Reuters that the energy corruption scandal in Ukrainewas “extremely unfortunate.”

According to Kallas, it’s important for Kyiv to take investigating the matter seriously.

This comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for two cabinet ministers to be dismissed in light of the investigation into the $100 million (€86 million) corruption scheme.

“There is no room for corruption, especially now,” Kallas said on the sidelines of a meeting of Group of Seven foreign ministers in Canada.

“I think it is very important that they really proceed with this very fast and take it very seriously.”

Canada, which currently holds the rotating G7 presidency and so is hosting a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers in Niagara-on-the-Lake, is planning further sanctions targeting Russian drone and energy production. 

Ahead of the meeting, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Ananda announced that Ottawa would impose further sanctions against Russia. 

“Canada will continue to ensure that Russia’s actions do not go unpunished,” Anand told reporters.

She said the sanctions would be the first to target the “IT infrastructure used in Russia’s hybrid strategies against Ukraine.” 

The sanctions also target vessels that are part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, ships allegedly used to transport Russian oil in defiance of global sanctions.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom announced additional funding of 13 million pounds (roughly $17.1 million or €14.75 million) to help repair Ukraine’s energy sector, following major Russian attacks in recent days. Britain also announced a maritime services ban on Russian liquefied natural gas. 

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said Russian President Vladimir Putin was “trying to plunge Ukraine into darkness and the cold as winter approaches.”

Germany’s Foreign Minster Johann Wadephul said he expected a coordinated G7 statement, also supported by the US, pledging continued support for Ukraine, even amid the latest corruption scandal to hit the Ukrainian government and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

“This group of G7 countries stands at Ukraine’s side,” Wadephul told journalists at a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Niagara-on-the-Lake in Canada. 

However, Wadephul also said that the issue was raised when he and his counterparts from France, Italy and the European Union held talks with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. 

He said he and his colleagues made it clear to Sybiha, “that there needs to be a committed fight against corruption in Urkaine, so that support from the West can remain credible.” 

Kenya’s Foreign Ministry said that it believed more than 200 of its citizens were fighting for Russia in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and that recruiting agencies were seeking to lure more Kenyans to sign up. 

“Recruitment exercises in Russia have reportedly expanded to include African nationals, including Kenyans,” the ministry said in a statement. “Over two hundred Kenyans may have joined the Russian military… recruitment networks are still active in both Kenya and Russia.” 

This follows Ukraine saying last week that more than 1,400 people from three dozen African countries were fighting alongside Russian soldiers in Ukraine, with some recruited through deception. 

According to the Nairobi ministry, Kenya’s embassy in Moscow has recorded injuries among some of the recruits, who were allegedly promised the equivalent of up to $18,000 (roughly €15,500, or nearly nine times Kenya’s annual GDP per capita) to cover costs for visas, travel and accommodation.

Kenya’s government said a security raid near Nairobi in September rescued 21 Kenyans who the ministry said were being prepared for deployment. One person was arrested and faces prosecution in connection with the incident. 

Shortly after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for her removal over a sweeping corruption scheme in the country’s energy sector, Ukraine’s Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk announced her resignation.

“I have submitted my resignation,” she wrote in a social media post, adding that she had not violated any laws.

Grynchuk is not known to have been charged in the case, which centers on allegations of $100 million (€86 million) in kickbacks. She has also not been named by investigators or prosecutors as having profited from the scheme.

According to Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko, German Galushchenko, the former energy minister who became justice minister in July, had also offered his resignation.

Ukrainian armed forces pulled out of positions in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine’s Southern Command said Wednesday.

“Late in the evening, Ukrainian units withdrew to more favourable positions due to the massive shelling of our positions in the Rivnopillia area,” the Southern Command reported.

Russia is taking advantage of poor weather to infiltrate Ukrainian positions in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine’s top military commander said Wednesday.

General Oleksandr Syrskyi also noted on his post on the Telegram app that the fiercest battles are still in thebesieged Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, in the eastern Donetsk region, where close to half of all front-line clashes took place over the previous 24 hours.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted to Telegram that the energy and justice ministers of the country should be removed from their posts as authorities carry out an investigation into a corruption scheme in the energy sector.

“Right now, it is extremely difficult for everyone in Ukraine. We are going through power outages, Russian attacks, and losses. It is absolutely unacceptable that there are still some schemes in the energy sector,” Zelenskyy posted to Telegram.

Separately, in his post on X, Zelenskyy said that “undermining the state means you will be held accountable; breaking the law means you will be held accountable.”

“There must be maximum integrity in the energy sector, in absolutely all processes. I support — and the prime minister supports — every investigation carried out by law enforcement and anti-corruption officials. This is an absolutely clear and consistent position for everyone,” Zelenskyy wrote.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko announced that she was suspending the country’s justice minister, who was energy minister before a government reshuffle in July, this morning.

The announcement came after Ukraine’s anti-corruption agency said Tuesday it had detained five people and identified seven other suspects in a major investigation involving alleged kickbacks worth around $100 million (€86 million) in the energy sector.

Russian strikes on Ukraine over the weekendcut electricity supplies to vast swathes of the country, with authorities implementing emergency power cuts to cope with a dearth in supplies amid low winter temperatures. 

Russia targets Ukraine’s infrastructure with wave of strikes

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Moscow is ready to resume negotiations with Kyiv in Istanbul, a Russian foreign ministry official said.

“The Russian team is ready for this; the ball is in Ukraine’s court,” Russian state news agency TASS cited Alexei Polishchuk as saying.

Ukrainian and Russian officials entered the third round of formal talks on July 23 in the Turkish city, but there was little progress on efforts to halt the war.

The two sides have not met since that meeting that lasted about 40 minutes. In that meeting, the Ukrainian delegation proposed a meeting in August between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin subsequently said Putin was willing to meet Zelenskyy, but only in Moscow, a condition rejected by Kyiv. 

A Russian drone attack in Ukraine’s southeastern Dnipropetrovsk killed at least one person and damaged infrastructure, the acting regional governor said.

Russian attacks also struck buildings in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region, where at least five people were injured. The strike set two buildings ablaze, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

Fighting has raged in Ukraine since Russia launched a full-scale invasion more than three years ago, with street battles having picked up in the Ukrainian stronghold of Pokrovsk in the last few days.

Ukrainian women have taken up leading roles in ensuring safety in the country as men have been called up.

Here’s one example: 

The Ukrainian military said it had struck the Stavrolen plant in Russia’s Stavropol Krai region, Reuters reported.

Ukraine’s General Staff reported explosions and fire in the area of the plant, which it said produces components for drones and materials for other types of Russian military equipment. 

Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) leading industrial nations are set to meet in Canada to discuss the war in Ukraine, among other items.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha is scheduled to attend the meeting to discuss support for his country.

The G7 comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. 

Ukrainian Justice Minister German Galushchenko has been suspended from his post as authorities investigate corruption in the energy sector, Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said.

Ukraine’s anti-corruption bureau on Monday announced they were investigating a “high-level criminal organization” that laundered about $100 million (€86.4 million) through contracts connected to the state nuclear power operator, Energoatom.

The anti-corruption bureau, known as NABU and which operates independently of the government, alleged several senior figures were involved. 

“A decision was made to suspend German Galushchenko from performing the duties of minister of justice,” Svyrydenko posted to X.

Lyudmyla Sugak, the deputy minister for European integration, takes over the job, Svyrydenko added.

The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) said Galushchenko, who served as energy minister for four years before a government reshuffle in July, had received “personal benefits” from one of the figures accused of spearheading the mass corruption scheme.