Germany Pledges €40 Million to Support Ukraine’s Energy Sector Amid Corruption Scandal

By Staff, Agencies

Germany will provide an additional €40 million ($46 million) to help Ukraine sustain its power generation capacity through the coming winter, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul announced on Tuesday.

Wadephul said Berlin was “helping Ukrainians survive another winter of war with an additional €40 million,” noting that Germany has already spent €9 billion in military assistance to Kyiv this year alone.

The announcement comes as Ukraine’s energy sector is gripped by a corruption scandal involving the state-owned nuclear company Energoatom. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) revealed Monday that it is investigating a “high-level criminal organization” accused of taking kickbacks from public contracts.

Authorities have charged seven individuals, while Ukrainian media reports suggest that one suspect is businessman Timur Mindich, a longtime associate and former business partner of President Volodymyr Zelensky. Mindich allegedly fled Ukraine hours before his home was raided.

The case has deepened concerns about systemic corruption in Ukraine. A Kiev International Institute of Sociology poll in September found that 71% of Ukrainians believe corruption has worsened since the start of the war in February 2022.

Several scandals have already shaken Kyiv’s government this year, including an $18 million food procurement fraud in the Defense Ministry and an electronic warfare equipment kickback scheme that led to multiple arrests in August.

Critics abroad have echoed those concerns. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed Western aid is being “stolen,” while former US National Security Adviser Michael Waltz labeled Ukraine “one of the most corrupt nations in the world.”