Corruption in Ukraine and Trump’s peace plan: Zelensky under pressure
War does not suspend old scourges. In Ukraine, while the Russian invader advances, the press lists the names of implicated personalities on a daily basis. A former Defense Minister is said to have participated in a corruption network, of which President Zelensky’s chief of staff was aware.
On November 12, the head of state dismissed his ministers of Justice and Energy following revelations from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. Timour Minditch, director of an audiovisual company and close friend of the President, is accused of having organized a system of kickbacks of 100 million dollars.
“Society is outraged”
Suppliers to the national nuclear company Energoatom were allegedly pushed to pay bribes to keep their contracts, via a network involving the Minister of Justice. While Minditch has fled to Israel, anger is brewing in a country where, faced with power cuts, the population resorts to generators and candles. “Society is outraged: this money could have been used to rebuild and protect our networks,” observes Dmytro Naumenko, analyst for Ucep, the Ukrainian Center for European Policy. On the front, the morale of the soldiers suffered.”
Did Volodymyr Zelensky know about it? He promised “an overhaul of the energy sector” and a “comprehensive audit”. But the affair goes badly, and he is very embarrassed in front of Western leaders. Since 2022, the United States and the European Union have deployed considerable sums of money for the country. On November 16, Zelensky began a European tour and obtained an agreement with France for the purchase of 100 Rafales.
Several recent scandals
Within the Union, pro-Russian leaders, such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, say this aid will fuel corruption in Ukraine. The Kremlin claims that the country is abusing the trust of its allies. And the American president seems to align with Russian demands. On November 21, Donald Trump proposed a peace plan which envisages that Ukraine cede to Russia the oblasts of Donetsk and Luhansk, in the east of the country, and reduce its army. Negotiations are underway between Americans, Europeans and Ukrainians. Weakened by the Minditch affair, will Zelensky agree to conclude an agreement with Russia at the cost of enormous concessions?
The country is not experiencing its first corruption scandal. In recent years, several cases involving military equipment have broken out. Like in January 2024, when Department of Defense officials were indicted for embezzlement of $40 million dedicated to the purchase of shells.
Other contracts, overcharged, made it possible to purchase military equipment cheaper but of poor quality. “The sums of Western money are colossal and some take advantage of it because it can be enough to inflate the management fees in the contracts,” explains Guillaume Ancel, former officer and war chronicler. But the embezzled money represents only a tiny part of the pie. The army does not lack weapons or ammunition, it lacks arms.” “It’s hard to imagine that some people are getting rich, but the priority is elsewhere. We will settle this after the war,” says Dmytro Naumenko.
