Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky visits a drone command center in the Donetsk region in the east of the country, November 4, 2025

Tuesday’s Coverage: Anti-Corruption Investigation of Zelensky’s Former Business Partner Mindich

UPDATE 0618 GMT:

A Ukrainian court has been told that President Volodymyr Zelensky’s former business partner Tymur Mindich “exerted undue influence” over Energy and Defense Ministers Herman Halushchenko and Rustem Umerov amid kickbacks of up to $100 million over energy supplies.

The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office made the claim in a hearing on Tuesday: “With Halushchenko’s assistance, Mindich controlled financial flows in Ukraine’s gas and energy sectors.”

Prosecutors said Halushchenko intervened with Zelensky and used Mindich-organized money-laundering services through an advisor.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau raided premises connected to Mindich and Halushchenko in recent days. Umerov, now the head of the National Security and Defense Council, has not been named as a suspect.

Analyst Mattia Nelles summarizes how the investigation is shaking the country to its core” with both troops and the general population feeling “shock, anger, and a sense of senselessness for the first time since 2022”.

The sense is that the uncovered scheme is only the tip of the iceberg. All of this comes as the temperature drops, blackouts are getting nastier and longer, and in parts of the country not only electricity but also heating is severely impacted by the relentless Russian strikes. At the very moment when the country needs effective management of its energy sector, news like this is toxic to the broader political mood.

Trust is at stake — among the population, the army, and international partners….

Minor changes here and there will no longer be enough to bridge the gulf of distrust. Otherwise, this risks becoming a turning point in Zelensky’s presidency.

UPDATE 0555 GMT:

Russia’s overseas oil holdings continue to erode amid tightening US and European Union sanctions.

Romanian Energy Minister Bogdan Ivan confirmed that Bucharest is taking control over the local subsidiary of Lukoil, protecting its national energy system and complying with the US sanctions on the Russian firm.

Lukoil manages the Petrotel refinery, which supplies about a quarter of Romania’s fuel market. It operates 320 gas stations and holds exploration rights in a section of the Black Sea.

The American sanctions, targeting Lukoil and Russian State company Rosneft, were confirmed last month and take effect on November 21. Entities who trade with the Russian firms face secondary sanctions.

Bulgaria is poised to seize Lukoil’s Burgas oil refinery. Officials said the country has only 35 days of gasoline reserves and 50 of diesel.

Lukoil has declared force majeure in Iraq, threatening suspension of production at one of the world’s largest oilfields, West Qurna-2.

Serbia’s Energy Minister said on Tuesday that Gazprom is negotiating its withdrawal from Serbian oil company NIS.

NIS runs Serbia’s main refinery at Pancevo, near Belgrade, which supplies about 80% of the country’s needs.

UPDATE 0540 GMT:

The head of one of Russia’s leading banks has warned Vladimir Putin that it has only “very modest” growth because of “challenging macroeconomic conditions”, including a reduction of its consumer loan portfolio.

German Gref, the head of Sberbank and Economy Minister from 2000 to 2007, said the growth in 2025 is “worse than we expected”.

Russian media are reporting that GDP is stagnant, with growing problems in manufacturing.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has spoken of “difficult” situations on the frontlines both in the east and south of the country.

Zelensky posted on social media after a briefing from Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s forces. He referred to Pokrovsk, the city in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine which the Russians have been trying to overrun for 16 months.

The Ukrainian military said on Tuesday that around 300 Russian troops are inside the city, fighting for control of the devastated logistics hub.

The President also spoke about the Zaporizhzhia region in the south and “weather conditions that favor the attacks”.

Syrskyi said the situation had “significantly worsened” with Russia “using its numerical superiority in personnel and materiel” to capture three settlements.

Zelensky said the position in Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region in the northeast “is somewhat easier” after Ukrainian success over “the past few weeks”.