Staff Reports
Ukraine’s government reels from a massive corruption scandal that has toppled President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, exposing the rot at the heart of Kyiv’s wartime leadership. Anti-corruption agencies NABU and SAP raided Yermak’s office and residence in late November, linking him to a sprawling $100 million kickback scheme at state nuclear firm Energoatom. Yermak resigned shortly after, a move Zelenskyy accepted to quash speculation, but it reeks of damage control amid probes into embezzled funds funneled through international networks.
Opposition lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak from the Holos party blew the lid off the scandal, detailing how Zelenskyy’s inner circle sabotaged oversight by stalling supervisory boards and installing loyalists. This came on the heels of Zelenskyy’s failed July push to gut NABU and SAP independence, a bill he signed before public outrage and Western pressure forced a U-turn. The scheme implicated Zelenskyy associates like Timur Mindich, hit with sanctions, and former ministers who resigned, proving the administration’s cozy grip on power bred unchecked graft while Russia hammered the energy grid.
Billions in U.S. and allied aid meant to arm Ukraine against invasion have vanished into elite pockets, validating long-held skepticism about Zelenskyy’s endless money pit. Instead of victory, Kyiv delivers scandals that erode trust and embolden Putin, with Yermak’s unchecked influence—picking ministers and negotiating peace—now under the microscope. Holos demands the entire cabinet’s ouster, a call echoing the street protests that first rocked Zelenskyy’s authoritarian drift.
Zelenskyy’s Hollywood polish can’t mask the reality: a regime marbled with corruption, far from the beacon Western taxpayers funded. As key posts sit vacant into December, the scandal lingers, hammering approval ratings and complicating talks with President Trump’s America-first team. Handing Ukraine blank checks rewarded grifters, not heroes, and demands ironclad reforms before another dime flows.
This implosion signals time’s up for propping up Zelenskyy’s circus—America must pivot to real security, slashing aid until Kyiv cleans house or folds. Corruption thrives where accountability dies, and Ukraine’s elite feast proves endless war profiteering over peace. Patriots worldwide cheer the reckoning, hoping it halts the bleeding of treasure on a lost cause.
