A major corruption scandal and mounting accusations that the Ukrainian presidency is using the judiciary to intimidate and silence critics has rocked Kyiv, presenting a significant test for Volodymyr Zelensky almost four years into the Russian invasion.
Justice Minister German Galushchenko, a former energy minister, was suspended Wednesday after being caught up in an investigation into one of Zelensky's top allies, who is accused of orchestrating a $100-million scheme to secure kickbacks from the power sector.
While Galushchenko denies any wrongdoing, the scandal has sparked anger as Ukraine's electricity grid is creaking under a barrage of attacks from Russia as the country heads into winter.
These challenges come at a critical time for Zelensky, who has remained popular and largely unchallenged since Russia invaded in 2022, with Moscow's forces advancing in the east.
It also shows how strained the tightrope that Ukraine has been forced to walk -- between centralising power to run the war, and forging on with democratic reforms key to joining the EU -- is becoming.
The latest case to trigger accusations that Zelensky's team are weaponising the judicial system to intimidate critics was last month's arrest of Volodymyr Kudrytsky, who led national energy company Ukrenergo until 2024, on embezzlement accusations.
Kudrytsky and his backers reject the claims as retribution for criticising Ukraine's strategy to defend the energy grid from Russian attacks.
"It's purely political. It couldn't happen without the involvement of the presidential office," Kudrytsky, currently on bail, told AFP, saying that he was being lined up as a scapegoat.
The authorities want to "demonstrate what will happen if you comment on sensitive matters," he added, pointing to his strained ties with the country's leadership.
- 'Something they don't like' -
Kudrytsky has won some high-profile supporters.
Business ombudsman Roman Waschuk said the evidence "appears quite flimsy" and warned against "targeting people for simply performing their normal corporate functions."
Opposition lawmaker Inna Sovsun told AFP it was part of a strategy of using criminal investigations to silence people.
"So you know there is a case against you, and they will try to use it if you do something they don't like," she said.
Asked by AFP about the case last week, Zelensky said it was a question for the judiciary but that Kudrytsky "was a chief of a big system, and that system had to secure our energy. He had to do it."
The grid has been battered by Russian attacks and charges that Kyiv could have done more to protect the network are sensitive.
Alongside the court cases, this week's allegations of a massive corruption scandal involving Timur Mindich, co-owner of the production company founded by the president, have fuelled worries about the centralisation of power amid the war.
Zelensky's office had this summer tried to strip the independence of the two agencies investigating and prosecuting the case -- the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO).
The dynamic presents a challenge to Brussels, which supports Ukraine's bid to join the bloc but is pressing Kyiv to build on democratic reforms if it wants to join the bloc.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine has been plagued by corruption scandals -- with graft and rule-of-law major vulnerabilities in Kyiv's EU bid.
While Brussels has praised progress made since the 2014 revolution, its latest monitoring report said: "The integrity, meritocracy and capacities of the judiciary and prosecutorial service... remain weak."
- 'People are afraid' -
Activists have also pointed to other cases.
Zelensky's predecessor and political rival Petro Poroshenko was charged with corruption earlier this year, a move he denounced as politically motivated.
Odesa mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov was stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship over allegations -- denied by him -- that he possesses a Russian passport.
Even some of his critics said it was a case of Zelensky's office trying to tighten control over a region run by the opposition.
And one NABU detective, Ruslan Magamedrasulov, remains in custody, charged with aiding an aggressor state for allegedly doing business with Russia.
Supporters say that case is fabricated -- retribution for his work investigating the scandal that came to light this week.Â
Other NABU staff have been detained or had their homes searched, heaping pressure on the agency.
"Some people are afraid. But if you're talking about the general staff of the NABU, most of them are very motivated," head Semen Kryvonos told AFP.
There is mounting worry about how Zelensky will respond.
"The question now is -- what will be their reaction," said Daria Kaleniuk, head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center.
"If Zelensky will decide to cover his inner circle and attack."
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