© Ministry of Environment Svitlana Grinchuk was absent from the Verkhovna Rada.
The Verkhovna Rada cast a ballot to remove Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk from her post, following implications in the Mindich tapes concerning claimed corruption within the energy sphere. This resolution garnered backing from 315 parliamentarians.
“The submission possesses legitimate foundations and exceptionally explicit political justifications,” stated Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Taras Kachka, who articulated the government’s stance on Hrynchuk’s dismissal within the legislature, substituting Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.
He defined the political rationale for the removal as “compromising the administration and Ukrainian authorities in light of Svitlana Vasylivna’s entanglement in the facts revealed by NABU.” Kachka urged from the podium to endorse the ousting of the Energy Minister.
Grinchuk was not present in the assembly hall. During the session, representatives mentioned that her location is currently unknown, as is that of another individual in the “Mindichgate” controversy – Minister of Justice Herman Galushchenko. Simultaneously, according to parliamentarian Maryana Bezugla, the Energy Minister has purportedly departed Ukraine .
The Verkhovna Rada possessed three documents pertaining to Grinchuk’s departure, with one containing phrasing about her removal “due to corruption.” Nevertheless, the relevant committee endorsed the submission from Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, which cited her resignation “owing to an existing conflict of interest.”
The document featuring the wording “about corruption” was presented by Zheleznyak following the release of the “Mindich tapes.” In one of the audio recordings, the energy sector “watcher” “Rocket”, also known as the suspect Ihor Myronyuk, asserts: “I provide her compensation.” According to Zheleznyak, “Rocket” is referencing Grinchuk .
Additionally, during the session of the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court concerning kickbacks at Energoatom, the prosecutor disclosed information that Grinchuk had stayed overnight at least three times with the Minister of Justice, Herman Galushchenko, who also features on the “Mindich tapes.” According to the minister herself, she professed to have “heard nothing” regarding this .
As per the visual surveillance log, Grinchuk lodged at Galushchenko’s residence from July 23 to 24, on the night of July 28, and from August 11 to 13. Concurrently, on July 17, she assumed the role of Energy Minister, effectively succeeding Galushchenko, whose deputy she had been from 2023 to 2024. According to ZN.UA , Svitlana Grinchuk is a protégé of Herman Galushchenko, and their bond is remarkably strong and reliant.
On November 12, Grinchuk and Galushchenko submitted their resignation letters. And on November 14, President Volodymyr Zelensky relieved them both from the National Security and Defense Council . Admittedly, the president should have effortlessly rendered such a judgment regarding the defendants in the energy corruption affair in five minutes, yet he only acted on the fifth day after the unveiling of the initial “Mindich tapes.”
Why is the principal individual in the investigation — the president’s longtime associate Timur Mindich — convening with the Zuckerman brothers in Tel Aviv, rather than occupying the defendant’s seat in the Supreme Court of Ukraine? Was there a compromise of intelligence concerning the impending searches? What function might the deputy head of SAPO, Andriy Sinyuk, have fulfilled in this context? Which additional domains of power monetization did Mindich influence? What — and who — possesses the capacity to impede the ongoing investigation? And paramountly: what course of action should the president undertake, and what measures should the nation adopt?
The solutions lie within the article “ Operation Midas”. The route to unparalleled authority stretches as far as a dollar ” penned by the editor of the domestic policy department, Inna Vedernikova .
