Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear energy company, Energoatom, said Tuesday that its operations remain unaffected amid a major corruption investigation in the country’s power sector involving alleged kickbacks of around $100 million.
Energoatom, which supplies more than half of Ukraine’s electricity, assured in a statement that production and operational safety have not been disrupted by the probe conducted by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. The agency recently released details of a 15-month investigation into suspected corruption in the energy sector, including at Energoatom.
Large inflows of Ukrainian and foreign funds have been directed to the energy sector as infrastructure continues to be repaired following repeated Russian aerial attacks. Ukraine’s Energy Ministry reported that Russian strikes targeted facilities in the Kharkiv, Odesa, and Donetsk regions overnight, prompting scheduled power outages across much of the country.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau focuses on high-level graft, particularly involving senior officials and state-owned enterprises, which is widely seen as a barrier to Ukraine’s European Union membership ambitions. Previous investigations uncovered schemes including inflated military procurement contracts and embezzlement of funds intended for mortar shells in Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the probe, saying, “Any effective action against corruption is an urgent need,” and called on officials to cooperate with investigators. He has faced public criticism over corruption issues and last month reversed a law that would have reduced the independence of Ukraine’s anti-graft agencies following street protests and EU pressure.
Investigators allege that some of Energoatom’s suppliers were required to pay bribes of 10% to 15% of contract values, and that high-ranking officials manipulated personnel, procurement, and finances to maintain control over the kickback scheme.
Meanwhile, Russia’s FSB claimed Tuesday it had foiled a Ukrainian intelligence plot to recruit Russian pilots and hijack a MiG-31 fighter jet carrying a hypersonic Kinzhal missile. Ukrainian officials did not comment immediately.
Ukraine’s General Staff reported overnight attacks on Russia’s Saratov oil refinery and an oil terminal in the port of Feodosia in occupied Crimea, causing “massive fires” and targeting facilities supplying fuel to southern Ukraine and the peninsula.