The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), General Oleksandr Syrsky, said today that he had visited troops holding their positions in Pokrovsk - a key city in Donetsk region besieged by the Russian army. This comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tries to contain the fallout from a major corruption scandal in the energy sector that has affected his administration, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
General Syrsky visited frontline units struggling to maintain control of Pokrovsk under pressure from Russian forces, and reported on “Telegram“ that he was personally coordinating operations on the ground.
Ukrainian troops are fighting street battles with Russian forces in the city and are trying to hold their positions to prevent encirclement by larger Russian formations. The fighting is taking place against the backdrop of a slow but exhausting advance by the Russian army in the region, the AP notes.
Syrsky pointed out that the main goals of the Ukrainian army are to restore control over key areas of the city, protect logistics routes and create new ones to ensure supplies and evacuation of the wounded. “There can be no talk of Russian control over the city of Pokrovsk or of operational encirclement of Ukrainian defense forces in the area“, he stressed.
Meanwhile, after Justice Minister German Galushchenko was temporarily removed from office yesterday and Energy Minister Svitlana Grinchuk resigned over the investigation into corruption in the energy sector, the government also dismissed the vice president of the national nuclear energy company “Energoatom“. According to investigators, the company is the root of the corruption scheme.
The heads of the financial, legal and public procurement departments of “Energoatom“, as well as the adviser to the company's president, have also been released as part of the investigation, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko announced late last night.
A court in Kiev began examining evidence presented by anti-corruption authorities after a 15-month investigation that included more than 1,000 hours of wiretap recordings. The investigation led to the arrest of five people and the identification of seven more participants in the scheme, which, according to the indictment, brought in about $100 million.
A Reuters source claims that the main suspect named by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) is Timur Mindych – a former business partner of President Zelensky and co-owner of the production company “Studio Kvartal 95“, where Zelensky began his career before entering politics. Mindich did not respond to a request for comment.
The investigation raises questions about what senior government officials knew about the corruption scheme and is reminiscent of Zelensky's attempt last summer to limit the powers of anti-corruption institutions. After mass protests and pressure from the European Union, the president abandoned these changes.
Amid the political tension, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the EU had granted Ukraine a loan of nearly 6 billion euros and promised additional financial support. Of this amount, 4.1 billion euros represent the last tranche of the 18.1 billion euros in loans agreed so far for Kiev for this year. The funds come from the proceeds of Russian assets frozen under EU sanctions.
“We will cover Ukraine's financial needs for the next two years“, von der Leyen told the European Parliament.
She stressed that Russia continues to target Ukraine's energy infrastructure, which requires constant repairs. The EU is exploring options to provide new funds - through the seizure of Russian assets, the issuance of bonds or additional contributions from individual member states.
“Putin thinks he can outlast us in this battle for the future of Ukraine,“ said von der Leyen. “This is a profound error in his judgment. Now is the time to act with renewed momentum to thwart his cynical attempt to buy time and bring him to the negotiating table.“