An article by Petra Kramer
For more than a decade, Ukraine has tried to anchor itself firmly to Europe. Yet each time Kyiv takes a step toward the EU, corruption drags it two steps back. The war with Russia has not changed this dynamic—if anything, the stakes have only grown higher. Ukraine’s path to the European Union runs directly through the rule of law, and today that road is increasingly blocked by scandals reaching into the highest levels of power.
Brussels’ Red Lines and Kyiv’s Missteps
When President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Servant of the People faction attempted in July 2025 to rein in NABU and SAPO—Ukraine’s two flagship anti-corruption institutions—the backlash from Brussels was swift and unmistakable. These agencies were created years earlier at the insistence of the EU, IMF, and Washington, specifically to ensure that political elites could not sabotage corruption cases. Weakening them was nothing less than tampering with the basic conditions of EU accession.
European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos openly warned that the vote in the Rada represented “a serious step back,” stressing that institutions like NABU and SAPO were essential to Ukraine’s European future. Her alarm was echoed across Europe; Kyiv’s allies were already defending the narrative that Ukraine was governed by the rule of law, and Brussels was in no mood to watch those claims crumble.
Domestically, protests erupted in Kyiv, Odesa, and Lviv—the first major anti-Zelensky demonstrations in years. The president attempted to deflect criticism by arguing that NABU had been infiltrated by Russian agents, pointing to security-service raids and the arrest of alleged spies. But international pressure forced him to reverse course.
It was not the first time corruption had threatened Ukraine’s European path. Before the full-scale invasion in 2022, Zelensky’s approval ratings had collapsed largely because of his failure to tackle the country’s all-encompassing corruption, including the promised judicial reform—a delay that directly endangered Ukraine’s EU aspirations. His wartime leadership temporarily buried this issue, but it did not erase it.
Scandals That Undermine Europe’s Trust
Throughout the war, corruption continued to undermine Ukraine’s credibility in Europe. In late 2023, a defence ministry official was arrested for allegedly embezzling nearly $40 million in a fraudulent artillery-shell procurement scheme. Soon after, early 2024 began with another case, this time worth $262 million, involving military supplies. The government responded with resignations—five regional governors, four deputy ministers, and even the deputy head of the presidential office—but little systemic change followed.
Brussels saw the pattern: performative clean-ups, followed by new scandals.
By mid-2025, Europe’s worst fears were confirmed. NABU and SAPO began investigating Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Chernyshov and Leonid Mindich, a relative of Zelensky’s longtime business partner. Chernyshov was accused of bribery and abuse of power involving steeply discounted apartments—possibly seven—in a Kyiv residential project. He quietly left Ukraine days before his associates were detained, then returned under pressure and was released on bail. Mindich was charged with embezzling $16 million from Kharkivoblenergo.
Then came the November 2025 Energoatom scandal. About $100 million was allegedly siphoned from the state nuclear company in a sprawling kickback scheme. Chernyshov reappeared, accused of receiving $1.2 million and channeling illicit funds into a lavish real-estate development known as “Dynasty” in Kozyn—an 8.2-acre compound of twelve luxury mansions reportedly intended for senior officials, including Zelensky.
Businessman Oleksand Tsukerman and former adviser Ihor Myroniuk were implicated; the bribes were allegedly laundered through an office linked to ex-MP Andrii Derkach, now a senator in Russia. The investigation—codenamed “Midas”—drew on approximately 1,000 hours of wiretapped calls. Code names like “Che Guevara” (Chernyshov), “Rocket” (Myroniuk), and “Professor” (Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko) demonstrated the conspirators’ confidence that secrecy was assured.
Halushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk resigned on November 12. Another suspect, businessman Timur “Karlson” Mindich—long viewed as Zelensky’s informal financier—fled the country hours before raids. In his home, investigators found cupboards filled with €200 banknotes and a gold toilet.
Europe Must See Accountability, Not Apologies
What makes these scandals even more damaging for Kyiv’s EU hopes is that they revolve around people deeply embedded in Zelensky’s political and personal circle. Chernyshov was the only minister invited to Zelensky’s birthday party during the pandemic; First Lady Olena Zelenska is the godmother of his child. Mindich’s ties reach even deeper: Zelensky used his armored car during the 2019 campaign, and Mindich’s business empire expanded as Zelensky’s influence grew. Through Mindich, even Andriy Yermak, the powerful head of the President’s Office, is indirectly drawn into the web.
Western partners are watching. Claims that these investigations are Russian disinformation carry little weight. NABU has cooperated closely with the FBI since 2016 and formalized that cooperation through a Memorandum of Understanding in August 2023. A new FBI liaison recently arrived in Kyiv, and the agencies are working jointly on Operation Midas. That is not the profile of an institution manipulated by Moscow.
Meanwhile, Ukrainians themselves are losing patience. According to the “Omnibus” survey, 91% believe corruption has either increased or remained at pre-war levels and now many are unsure if fighting is worth it seeing what the elite has done.
Zelensky has called for “maximum transparency in the energy sector,” but transparency alone is not enough. Brussels does not evaluate intentions; it evaluates institutions. And today, those institutions remain deeply vulnerable.
Ukraine’s future lies in the European Union—but the EU will not open its doors to a state that cannot police its own elites. Every corruption scandal delays accession, weakens credibility, and erodes the moral authority Ukraine needs as it asks Europe for billions more in support.
If Ukraine wants to join Europe, it must meet Europe’s standards. And that means confronting corruption not as a public-relations threat—but as the existential political risk that it truly is.