Ukraine’s anti-corruption agency has opened a wide-ranging investigation into alleged bribery and kickbacks linked to the state nuclear operator Energoatom, prompting high-level responses from Kyiv as the country braces for a difficult wartime winter.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) said investigators carried out around 70 searches coordinated with the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, documenting what it called a “high-level criminal organization” that laundered about $100 million through contracts connected to Energoatom. The probe reportedly rests on some 1,000 hours of audio recordings and 15 months of work. Suspects named by authorities include a former adviser to the energy minister, Energoatom’s head of security, a businessman and several employees. Ukrainian outlets have linked the case in media reports to influential figures close to the presidency, though officials have limited public comment.
Energoatom confirmed the searches and said it was assisting investigators. Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk said the ministry and Energoatom will cooperate fully, calling for “transparent and open” proceedings while stressing the need to protect energy-sector integrity as Russia steps up strikes on Ukraine’s power grid. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pledged that anyone involved in corruption will face legal consequences, saying clean governance at Energoatom and across the energy industry is a national priority.
The probe comes amid renewed Russian attacks on infrastructure that have damaged the power grid and caused blackouts, heightening concerns about energy security through the winter. Energoatom operates Ukraine’s four nuclear plants—Rivne, Khmelnitsky, South Ukraine and the Zaporizhzhia facility, the latter currently under Russian occupation and in cold shutdown.
Front-line and regional developments:
– Myrnohrad, east of Pokrovsk in Donetsk, has been the focus of heavy fighting. Kyiv denies reports that the town is fully encircled, saying Ukrainian units “confidently hold their positions” and that supplies and troop rotations, including evacuations of the wounded, are being carried out despite complications. Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed advances in two districts and repeated that Ukrainian forces had been cut off, while independent open-source mapping by DeepState shows the town nearly surrounded but with a small gap indicating continued Ukrainian control.
– Pokrovsk is strategically important for its road and rail junctions; Russian control of the city would strengthen Moscow’s hold in Donetsk.
– Russia announced the capture of several villages along the front, including Hnativka in Donetsk and Solodke and Nove in Zaporizhzhia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed prospects of a truce and said the conflict will continue until Russia’s objectives are met.
Cross-border and regional strikes:
– Ukraine’s special forces reported an overnight strike on a pumping station at an oil depot in occupied Crimea’s Hvardiyske facility, described as key to Russian fuel logistics on the peninsula. Extent of damage was not specified.
– A Ukrainian drone attack damaged civilian infrastructure in Russia’s Saratov region, according to Governor Roman Basurgin. The area hosts a Rosneft-owned refinery that has been repeatedly targeted this year; the refinery supplies gasoline and diesel to central Russia.
Civilian movement and refugee trends:
– Eurostat data show a sharp rise in Ukrainians arriving in the EU in September, with about 79,000 people granted temporary protection that month—a 49% increase from August—following Kyiv’s decision to ease wartime travel restrictions allowing men aged 18–22 to leave. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, over 4.3 million Ukrainians have gone to the EU; Germany has taken the largest share, with more than 1.2 million.
These developments unfold as Ukraine balances urgent security needs, infrastructure repair and international expectations on anti-corruption reform while continuing military operations along multiple front lines.
