Ukraine Struggles with Key Government Vacancies Amid Scandal

By Pavel Polityuk and ‌Dan Peleschuk

KYIV, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Ukraine's government has no active candidates for the vacant position of energy minister, two sources familiar with the process said, underlining how a corruption scandal is complicating efforts to ‍fill key ‌posts at a critical time.

More than four weeks after Svitlana Hrynchuk and German Galushchenko were dismissed as energy and justice ministers respectively, their replacements have not yet been found, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said this week.

He ⁠has also not appointed a new chief of staff after the November 28 resignation of former right-hand ‌man Andriy Yermak, who had been at Zelenskiy's side since long before Russia began its almost four-year-old war in Ukraine.

The corruption case at the state atomic agency involving $100 million in alleged kickbacks for contracts, including to fortify Ukrainian energy facilities, has caused public outrage and undermined Kyiv's position in U.S.-brokered peace talks.

Experts, officials and lawmakers said some possible applicants were seen as non-starters because of potential conflicts of interest.

Other candidates were put off applying because they feared the full force of the law for a ⁠minor slip-up in office or did not expect to be able to do the job properly when so much power lies with the presidency.

"Most of those who want it (the energy job) see themselves as the next member of an organised crime group who will do ​the same thing but without getting caught," said Oleksandr Kharchenko, head of the Energy Research Center in Kyiv.

"But now the situation doesn't ‌allow for such a vision, and to be honest, I do not envy those people who ⁠are currently responsible for finding a minister."

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Zelenskiy said lawmakers and his government should speed up their search, but added that he was prioritising peace talks to end the war.

SCANDAL COMES AT A PARTICULARLY BAD TIME

One of the sources said a replacement for Hrynchuk had been expected to be named quickly, but that "everything stalled" after at least four potential candidates either bowed out or were ​deemed unfit.

The second source, a senior lawmaker, said there were currently "no candidates". Both spoke anonymously to discuss sensitive internal deliberations.

Hrynchuk, a former environment minister, had served only a few months as energy minister before she was sacked.

Galushchenko, whose voice was captured on recordings released by investigators but was not charged with a crime, had been energy minister from 2021-2025 before moving to the justice portfolio in July.

Both have denied wrongdoing.

Leadership of the energy sector is important, because Russia has been attacking power stations and gas facilities across Ukraine in drone and missile attacks, causing regular power, water and heating outages in towns and cities.

That has fuelled public anger ​over the alleged bribes ‍connected with contracts at Energoatom, which runs power plants generating around ​half Ukraine's electricity.

Among the justice ministry's main tasks is to fill hundreds of vacant court positions to ease the backlog of cases linked to the war.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said Ukraine's corruption scandal is "not helpful" as he turns up the heat on Zelenskiy to accept big concessions to Russia to help end hostilities.

The allegations also threaten to sow fresh doubt among the international donors that Kyiv has relied on for financial, humanitarian and military support throughout the war.

Ukraine has stepped up a campaign against corruption since Russia's 2022 invasion, but has more to do as it embarks on the long European Union accession process.

STRONG CANDIDATES ARE BEING DISCOURAGED

The crisis has also renewed focus on how decision-making in Ukraine had become heavily centralised under Zelenskiy and Yermak, the former head of his administration who had been in the post since 2020.

Olena Prokopenko, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund, ⁠said ambitious and highly qualified candidates for top posts are probably discouraged by the fact that Zelenskiy relies on a narrow circle of allies.

"For those who have the wrong reasons to join the government, it's less and less lucrative and interesting," she said.

"And for those who have a reputation, and who have high ​integrity and a good name, it's less interesting because they know that they may not have any influence on key decisions."

The president's office did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Zelenskiy's choice for his next top aide - or a new format for his administration - is likely to have a significant impact on domestic policy. The leading candidates are members of the government or other long-serving officials.

Andrii Osadchuk, a member of the Holos opposition party who is deputy chair of parliament's law enforcement committee, told Ukrainian outlet NV this week that it would be critical to roll back the ‌negative legacy of a powerful presidential office.

Yermak had built a reputation as a power broker whose influence far exceeded his unelected position. Holos has taken a lead in parliament in alleging high-level government corruption.

"Many decent people who could head ministries, run the Office of the President, or whatever else, are simply not ready to participate in this political bordello," said Osadchuk.

(Additional reporting and writing by Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Mike Collett-White and Timothy Heritage)