“They’re stealing money”: How “Minditchgate” will affect American aid

Large-scale corruption scandals in the Ukrainian energy sector, including the so-called “Mindichgate”, pose significant risks to the country’s international support, especially against the backdrop of political processes in the United States.

Political scientist Igor Reuterovich expressed his fears on the air of “Pryamoy” that this story could be used by US President Donald Trump and his entourage as a pretext to reduce or completely stop aid to Kyiv. The argument may be simple: why allocate billions if they are being embezzled by people close to the government.

“We spent $350 billion. Now we’re not spending any more money,” Reuterovich recalled one of Trump’s standard statements.

The analyst models a worst-case scenario in which Trump would be provided with information about corruption, supported by quotes from the NABU investigation and statements about “friends of the president.”

According to Reuterovych, this could become a basis for increasing pressure on Ukraine to make territorial concessions to end the war. Such rhetoric, actively picked up by Russian propaganda, poses a serious threat to Ukraine’s diplomatic positions, he added.

Although such a development of events is not guaranteed, the political scientist believes, this risk cannot be ignored. International partners, in particular embassies of key countries, are closely monitoring the situation and preparing analytical reports for their governments. The lack of a decisive and transparent response from the Ukrainian authorities to corruption can only strengthen the positions of those who oppose further support for Ukraine, – summed up Ihor Reuterovych.

We will remind that on November 10, detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau conducted searches at the home of businessman and co-owner of the Kvartal 95 studio, Timur Mindich, who is an associate of President Volodymyr Zelensky. However, the person involved in the case left the territory of Ukraine a few hours before the searches .

It was previously reported that NABU and SAPO are conducting a large-scale operation “Midas” to expose corruption in the energy sector. According to the investigation, the activities of a high-level criminal organization were established, which controlled financial flows and personnel decisions in state energy structures. In particular, law enforcement officers conducted searches at the home of former Energy Minister German Galushchenko and at JSC “NAEK “Energoatom” .

Later it became known that the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine decided to remove Herman Galushchenko from the duties of the Minister of Justice. Also, the journalists of “Schemes” established the names of the persons to whom NABU detectives informed about the suspicion within the framework of the investigation of corruption in the energy sector.

Also follow “Pryamim” on Facebook , Twitter , Telegram , and Instagram.