The detention on Sunday of Ukraine’s former energy minister, German Galushchenko, in a high-profile money laundering probe, is the latest in a series of corruption scandals to have hit Ukraine’s government since the Russian invasion.
Here are the biggest:
– January 2023: series of dismissals –
A string of top Ukrainian officials were fired following a corruption scandal over the purchase of foodstuffs for troops.
They included five regional governors, four deputy ministers and two officials from a government agency, as well as the deputy head of the presidential administration and the deputy prosecutor.
– May 2023: supreme court chief arrested –
The president of the Supreme Court Vsevolod Kniaziev was arrested and placed in detention.
He was detained in a bribery inquiry: Ukrainian billionaire Kostiantyn Zhevago was suspected of hoping to bribe the court to issue a ruling allowing him to keep control of the shares of a mining company at the centre of a dispute with former shareholders.
Zhevago, whom Ukraine tried to extradite from France, transferred $2.7 billion to lawyers, including $1.8 million to persuade judges at the Court, according to anti-corruption officials.
– August 2023: firings in the army
In August 2023, President Volodymyr Zelensky sacked all the regional draft officials over a scam which allowed conscripts to dodge serving in the army.
– September 2023: Defence Minister resigns –
In September 2023, Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov resigned over purchases of overpriced uniforms and food for the army. Reznikov was one of the faces of the Ukrainian war effort, unflaggingly lobbying Kyiv’s western allies for weapons.
– May 2024: minister jailed –
Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky resigned and was jailed, amid accusations he seized land worth more than 6.9 million euros while working as the head of a major farming company. He has since been released on bail.
Solsky was accused by Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) of heading a group that expropriated state land in the northeastern Sumy region between 2017 and 2021.
– May 2024: personal profit –
The former deputy head of Zelensky’s office Andriy Smyrnov was charged with making illicit gains worth almost $400,000.
He is accused of purchasing property, land and luxury vehicles with the funds, the origin of which was not clear.
He faces up to 10 years in prison.
– April 2025: defective shells –
Last April, two defence ministry officials and the director of a defence plant and his deputy were arrested on suspicion of supplying tens of thousands of faulty shells to the army.
In the autumn of 2024, at least 100,000 shells had to be withdrawn from the frontline, at a time Ukraine was short on munitions.
According to the security services, some factories deliberately used low-quality materials to maximise profit, with the complicity of military officials.
– June 2025: deputy prime minister in sight –
Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov was suspected to be part of a large-scale corruption scheme in the construction sector. He was part of Zelensky’s inner circle, and the charges angered Zelensky.
He was fired the following month.
– November 2025: Operation ‘Midas’ –
Presidential aide Andriy Yermak resigned after his house was targeted in one of 70 anti-corruption raids.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau uncovered a “high-level criminal organisation” responsible for embezzling $100 million (86 million euros) in the energy sector.
NABU said the graft scheme had forced state nuclear operator Energoatom contractors to routinely pay kickbacks on contracts, to avoid facing payment delays or losing their supplier status. Several arrests were made.
An alleged close friend and a former business associate of Zelensky, Timur Mindich, was accused of masterminding the scheme.
He is also suspected of having influenced decisions by top government officials, like former Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, who is now Ukraine’s chief negotiator.
The scandal pushed Justice Minister German Galushchenko and his replacement as Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk to step down.
Galushchenko was arrested on Sunday as he tried to leave the country, suspected of money laundering, and taking part in a criminal organisation.
Ukrainian government dogged by corruption scandals since the Russian invasion
