ZELENSKYY IMPOSES SANCTIONS ON FORMER BUSINESS PARTNER AMID $100M CORRUPTION SCANDAL ROCKING UKRAINE

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This handout photograph taken and released by Ukrainian Presidential Press-service on November 13, 2025 shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ordering a servicemen during his visit in 65th Separate Motorized Brigade in Zaporizhzhia region, amid Russian invasion in Ukraine. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky said on November 13, 2025 he had visited troops near the frontline in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, where Russia has made recent advances in its almost four-year invasion. (Photo by Handout / AFP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday imposed sanctions on a former close associate at the centre of a widening corruption scandal, as public anger grows in a nation worn down by nearly four years of war with Russia.

The move came a day after Zelenskyy demanded the resignation of two ministers, part of his bid to distance himself from allies implicated in an alleged $100 million money-laundering scheme involving the country’s embattled energy sector. Moscow’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have already triggered severe power shortages nationwide.

Investigators identified 46-year-old businessman Timur Mindich — widely known for his past business ties to Zelenskyy — as the mastermind of the scheme. Ukrainian media have long described Mindich as a close friend of the president.

In a decree published by the president’s office, Zelenskyy ordered “personal special economic” sanctions on Mindich and another businessman, Oleksandr Tsukermann. The measures include freezing their assets, revoking state honours and blocking their travel and business activities. Both men, who also hold Israeli citizenship, are believed to have fled Ukraine.

Following a call with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Zelenskyy said Ukraine would “do everything necessary to strengthen partners’ trust,” though he did not directly reference the scandal.

The revelation threatens to politically damage Zelenskyy, whose leadership has been built on pledges to eradicate corruption.

A European diplomat in Kyiv told AFP that Ukraine’s government needed to be “cleaned of corrupt elements,” while stressing that the case demonstrated the growing strength of the country’s anti-graft institutions.

Germany — Ukraine’s largest EU donor — reiterated its expectation that Kyiv intensify anti-corruption reforms. But Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a frequent critic of Ukraine, seized on the scandal, accusing the government of running a “war mafia network with a thousand ties to President Zelensky.”

The International Monetary Fund, from which Ukraine is seeking additional financial support, said combating corruption remains a “central piece of reform for the donor community.”

A senior Ukrainian official, speaking anonymously, said Zelenskyy was furious and had severed all contact with Mindich. Mindich had co-owned the comedy production company Kvartal 95, founded by Zelenskyy during his entertainment career.

“What is there to talk about? He can go to hell,” the official said, adding that the president was “stunned when he found out what was happening.”

Zelenskyy fired his justice and energy ministers on Wednesday in response to the scandal.

“The president has taken the toughest steps he could within his powers,” the official added.