Energoatom: $100m graft probe won’t disrupt output

Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear power operator, Energoatom, has said that its electricity generation and safety measures remain fully intact despite an ongoing corruption investigation involving alleged kickbacks worth around $100 million in the energy sector.

In a statement, the company stressed that all nuclear facilities are operating normally and that the inquiry has not affected production or operational security. The investigation, conducted by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, follows a 15-month probe into suspected misuse of funds and irregularities in state-run energy enterprises.

Energoatom provides more than half of Ukraine’s electricity and has received significant domestic and international funding as the government works to repair critical energy infrastructure damaged by repeated Russian aerial strikes. Overnight attacks were reported in the Kharkiv, Odesa, and Donetsk regions, leading to temporary power outages in several areas.

The anti-corruption investigation targets possible high-level graft involving procurement contracts and internal administrative influence. Investigators say some suppliers were allegedly required to pay kickbacks valued at 10% to 15% of contract sums, while senior officials are suspected of manipulating staffing and financial decisions to maintain control of the system.

Efforts to tackle corruption are seen as essential to Ukraine’s goal of joining the European Union. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the latest probe and urged full cooperation, describing anti-graft enforcement as “an immediate necessity.” His government has come under increased domestic and international scrutiny over corruption, especially during wartime spending.

Separately, Russia’s Federal Security Service claimed it had blocked a Ukrainian intelligence attempt to recruit Russian pilots and seize a MiG-31 fighter jet equipped with a hypersonic Kinzhal missile. Ukrainian authorities did not immediately comment.

Ukraine’s military, meanwhile, reported strikes overnight on Russia’s Saratov oil refinery and on an oil terminal in Feodosia in occupied Crimea, saying the attacks targeted infrastructure supplying fuel to Russian forces in southern Ukraine.