Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and his former business partner Tymur Mindich

EA on Ukraine’s War and Politics 24: Russia’s Economic Problems, Kyiv’s Corruption Challenge

Saturday’s Coverage: Russia’s “Wicked” Attack on Kyiv Murders 6, Injures 35

UPDATE 0850 GMT:

At least four civilians have been murdered and at least 17 injured by Russian attacks against Ukraine over the past day.

Air defenses downed 139 of 176 drones launched by Russia overnight. The other 37 hit 13 locations.

The Russians also fired an Iskander-M ballistic missile.

In the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, two civilians were slain and eight injured. Seven high-rise buildings and 39 private houses were damaged.

In the neighboring Zaporizhzhia region, one person was murdered and one injured when fishermen on the shore of the Dnipro River were attacked.

In the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, one person was killed and five wounded.

Power cuts have been imposed in the Odesa region after Russia hit energy infrastructure, damaging a solar power station.

UPDATE 0733 GMT:

Russia has murdered the widow of the first victim of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Nataliia Khodemchuk, 73, died of severe injuries inflicted by Russian missile and drone strikes on Kyiv early Friday.

Her husband Valerii Khodemchuk was immediately killed by the initial blast in the Chernobyl reactor on April 26, 1986. His body was never found.

Natalia Khodemchuk was critically wounded when a drone struck a residential building in the Troieshchyna district, completely burning her apartment. She was taken to a burn center, but doctors could not save her.

She was the seventh civilian murdered in Friday’s assault. At least 36 others were injured.

President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on Saturday of the “new tragedy inflicted by the Kremlin”:

Ukrainians who survived Chornobyl, who helped rebuild the country after that disaster, are once again facing danger — the terror of an aggressor state,” Zelensky said.

Ukraine needs support that saves lives: more air defense systems, more protective capabilities, and greater resolve from our partners. Only this can stop further Russian terror and give Ukrainian families the basic right to safety in their own homes.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Amid a corruption scandal engulfing high-level officials and his former business partner, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced reforms of State-owned energy companies.

The measures include overhauls of management and comprehensive financial audits.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau has named eight suspects in a scheme of up to $100 million in kickbacks from energy suppliers for Energoatom, Ukraine’s State nuclear firm. Among those investigated are Zelensky’s former business partner Tymur Mindich, former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, and former Justice Minister German Galushchenko.

Zelensky forced Halushchenko, who was Energy Minister from 2021 to 2025, and his successor, Svitlana Hrynchuk, to resign last week.

The President confirmed on Sunday morning that he agreed on with Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, in an online meeting, on “further decisions to clean up and reboot the management of the energy sector”, including Energoatom, Naftogaz, Ukrhydroenergo, and the Gas Transmission System Operator.

The steps include new supervisory boards and regulatory commissions, with immediate searches for new Chief Executive Officers. The Government will audit and prepare for sale assets and shares in assets that belonged to Russian entities and to “collaborators who fled to Russia”.

“We are beginning a reboot of key state enterprises operating in the energy sector,” Zelensky declared. Ministers must maintain “constant and substantive communication with law enforcement and anti-corruption bodies”, and “any scheme uncovered in these companies must receive an immediate and fair response”.