Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is being harried by continued Russian aggression, US President Donald Trump’s unabashed attempts to dictate policy and Europe’s inability to help. But massive and unbridled corruption at home is the more serious threat, as it will devour the very vitals of Ukrainian society and sap the will of the people to fight.
Given inadequate military and economic support from the US and Europe, the Russian military campaign continues. Having failed to get Zelenskiy to agree to his politico-economic deal to end the war, President Trump is embarrassing Zelenskiy by asking him to prove his domestic political standing by holding the long-overdue election to the Ukrainian presidency.
More critically, Zelenskiy’s support base within Ukraine is shrinking due to his inability to rein in avaricious Ukrainian oligarchs, many of whom he had promoted.
He had 91% approval after the Russian invasion began in 2022. But persistent problems on both the domestic and international fronts brought down his popular rating to 61% in December 2025, according to the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology.
Some believe that he would struggle to be re-elected in a post-war vote, which Trump insists should be held this year. Zelenskiy is dragging his feet on holding elections, saying that, as per the Ukrainian constitution, polls cannot be held during a war. He also argues that polls cannot be demanded in the absence of a security guarantee from Brussels and Washington.
Mounting Scandals
In late 2025, Ukraine was shaken by a major corruption scandal, prompting searches and arrests involving senior figures and scrutiny of Zelenskiy’s inner circle, including longtime chief of staff Andriy Yermak. Yermak resigned.
Public demonstrations broke out when Zelenskiy appointed a crony as prosecutor general to control investigations and cases handled by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).
The latest scandal centred on the energy sector, which is particularly jarring for Ukrainians, considering that Russia’s attacks on infrastructure have left millions without electricity, water or heat in freezing conditions. Many soldiers and veterans are not getting paid or receiving adequate healthcare, while politicians are profiteering.
The recent detention of former energy minister German Galushchenko in a high-profile money-laundering probe is the latest in a series of corruption scandals, AFP said.
In January 2023, there was a string of dismissals of top officials fired over a scandal involving the purchase of foodstuffs for troops. Among those dismissed were 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.
In May 2023, the president of the Supreme Court, Vsevolod Kniaziev, was arrested following a bribery inquiry. Ukrainian billionaire Kostiantyn Zhevago was suspected of trying to bribe the court to issue a ruling allowing him to retain control of shares in a mining company. Zhevago, whom Ukraine tried to extradite from France, transferred US$2.7 billion to lawyers, including US$1.8 million to persuade judges at the court.
In August 2023, Zelenskiy sacked officials over a scam that allowed conscripts to dodge army service. In September 2023, Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov resigned over the purchase of overpriced uniforms and food for the army.
In May 2024, Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky resigned and was jailed amid accusations of seizing state land worth more than €6.9 million while working as the head of a major farming company. In the same month, a former deputy head of Zelenskiy’s office, Andriy Smyrnov, was charged with making illicit gains worth almost US$400,000 to purchase property, land and luxury vehicles.
In April 2025, two defence ministry officials and the director of a defence manufacturing 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 dud shells had to be withdrawn from the frontline. Some factories had used low-quality materials to maximise profit, with the complicity of military officials.
In June 2025, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov was suspected of being part of a large-scale corruption scheme in the construction sector. He was part of Zelenskiy’s inner circle. He was fired in July.
In November that year, presidential aide Andriy Yermak resigned after his house was targeted in one of 70 anti-corruption raids. The raid uncovered the embezzlement of US$100 million in the energy sector.
NABU said the graft scheme had forced contractors of state nuclear operator Energoatom to routinely pay kickbacks on contracts to avoid payment delays or the loss of supplier status.
A former business associate of Zelenskiy’s, Timur Mindich, was accused of masterminding the scheme. Mindich, a co-founder of the Kvartal 95 entertainment company with Zelenskiy, has been named as a suspect and is accused of being the scheme’s ringleader. A former Ukrainian official told Fox News that Mindich’s apartment was allegedly fitted with golden toilets.
Mindich, who is understood to have fled Ukraine for Poland last week, shared a well-documented close friendship with Zelenskiy. Zelenskiy used Mindich’s armoured car during his 2019 presidential campaign. The two also own properties in the same building.
The scandal pushed Justice Minister German Galushchenko and his replacement, Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk, to step down. Galushchenko was arrested as he tried to flee the country.
Wars Fuel Corruption
War creates perfect conditions for corruption, giving politicians free rein to use their power to promote their own interests. Half of the countries in the bottom quartile of Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perceptions Index are undergoing conflict, according to studies.
In Syria, the Bashar al-Assad regime enabled members of the ruling class to benefit from political chaos, allowing people such as Rami Makhlouf, a cousin of Bashar al-Assad, to amass vast wealth. Makhlouf was a key figure in black-market operations.
War industries are major sources of illegal funds, given the urgency forced by operational requirements. Just as war nurtures corruption, corruption perpetuates war. The American military-industrial complex, founded by President Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s, is meant to profit from war. The military contract system is a major part of that, and it is based on kickbacks.
War gives rise to political bribery. In Afghanistan, the US-backed government made warlords rich across the country in exchange for support in fighting the Taliban. Like the Russians in Syria, Americans in Afghanistan allowed US-linked figures such as Erik Prince to cooperate with Afghan warlords. Prince was an American businessman, a former US Navy SEAL officer and the founder of the private military company Blackwater. Foreign-inspired corruption through military contractors also corrupts the local economy.
Whether there is war or not, a kleptocratic government tends to buy off powerful opponents with public contracts and concessions. It will co-opt organised criminals to suppress dissent. Corruption breeds political conflict, often leading to insurgencies. Weak institutions and poorly trained and poorly paid officials discredit the formal system and create disaffection.
After a bloody fight against Soviet invaders, many ordinary Afghans who fought across the ranks of the US-backed Mujahideen resistance wanted to return to normal life. But when they returned to their villages, they were forced to deal with local governments run by corrupt leaders and warlords. Eventually, many joined the Taliban.
In Syria, a similar situation played out. Initial clashes in cities such as Daraa, the “Cradle of the Revolution”, were triggered by local resentment against corrupt officials.
Giorgio Spagnol, a former Italian general and political analyst, said that impunity for crime may encourage citizens to take the law into their own hands in attempts to impose jungle justice, which could further fuel conflict and crime.
Another factor linking conflict and corruption relates to autocratic tendencies. Countries in the bottom quartile of the Corruption Perceptions Index are disproportionately autocratic. Bangladesh, under the autocratic regime of Sheikh Hasina, bred corruption on a massive scale. Banks and financial institutions were looted and the proceeds stashed abroad. Defaults rose sharply, and those without political connections found it difficult to obtain bank loans.
By definition, autocracies serve only a minority of the population. The inequities this creates generate escalating pressures within society. Autocracies are also unreceptive to reform and therefore lack self-corrective capacity.
Ukrainian Corruption Will Be Exploited Russia and US
The Kremlin and the White House will now seek to exploit the corruption scandal to impose even more punishing terms. Meanwhile, the compromises Ukrainians may be asked to accept will be even less palatable at home when delivered by a president whose failure to curb corruption has eroded his domestic standing.
Elections Are Remote
Zelenskiy is dragging his feet on holding elections, saying that under the Ukrainian constitution, polls cannot be held during a war. He also argues that elections cannot be demanded in the absence of security guarantees from Brussels and Washington. Ukraine is thus stuck in a morass.