Operation “Midas” exposed systemic corruption in Ukraine’s energy sector, highlighting weaknesses in governance, destabilizing the ruling coalition, and raising concerns over trust in the Presidential Office, NSDC, and anti-corruption bodies.
On Monday, November 10, two events took place that became significant in the country’s history. It was reported by Ukrainska Pravda.
First, the entire country began to learn who Timur Mindich is and that he is, in fact, the one running its energy sector.
Second, the country woke up without Timur Mindich. As Ukrainska Pravda has already reported, the president’s associate suddenly remembered his Israeli citizenship and crossed the state border at 2 a.m., four and a half hours before the searches began. Yet just the evening before, the lights were still on in Mindich’s lower-floor apartment.
How were the country’s top offices shaken all week? Who in the president’s inner circle is currently afraid of receiving a notice of suspicion from NABU and SAPO? Where has NSDC Secretary Rustem Umerov disappeared, and how might this be connected to the largest anti-corruption operation in the country’s history, “Midas”?
Ukrainska Pravda looked into the details.
“He was just sorting things into bags”
A week has passed since Timur Mindich began hiding in Israel from Ukrainian justice.
Cars with operational plates no longer dive one after another into the underground parking lot of the building at 9A Hrushevskoho Street, and the political leadership of the state is now facing the biggest challenges in six and a half years in power.
Sources interviewed by UP in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s circle stress that no one in the government wants to take the blame for what happened, but “someone has to take a step forward.” Because the further it goes, the more obvious it becomes that with such a concentration of power in four hands, Mindich, the “Carlson” of the government quarter, could not have been quietly “operating” unnoticed.
Opinions regarding the main figure in the “Midas” operation are divided.
The facts already made public by the anti-corruption agencies indicate that Timur Mindich is the tip of the corruption iceberg. However, most sources interviewed by Ukrainska Pravda in political and business circles believe that the infamous “Carlson” is the part of the iceberg that lies beneath the surface.
It is also important to recall that the heads of NABU and SAPO repeatedly emphasized over the week that the information is still being processed, and there are many recordings and encrypted figures, so new high-profile revelations and names can be expected.
“He was just sorting things into bags,” one Ukrainian businessman describes Mindich’s role in organizing the criminal group.
“It doesn’t matter who the cashier is – Mindich or Kurchenko. If there is demand for a function, it could be anyone,” another member of Ukraine’s richest list reflects on Carlson’s role.
Currently, as sources close to the President’s Office told Ukrainska Pravda, the Ukrainian political scene is frozen in anticipation – awaiting those responsible. After all, such a shadow “wallet” in the form of Mindich, which the country learned about last week, is something very few people in Ukraine can afford.
With Yermak or without?
Several Ukrainska Pravda sources in the government and the President’s Office assure that Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak is convincing Zelenskyy that the problems that have piled onto the authorities over the past week may be the work of oligarch Ihor Kolomoiskyy, who has been in the SBU detention center for three years.
“Finding an enemy to avoid admitting guilt is one of the Office’s favorite tactics,” say sources close to the Bankova.
In the past, Deputy of Yermak Andriy Smyrnov used a similar method to protect himself in office; later, after a UP article, he was suspected of illegal enrichment. But until the very moment of the suspicion, the official continued to persuade the president that it was an attack by enemies.
The same tactic was used by another Yermak deputy, Rostyslav Shurma, when he was accused of the possible theft of 300 million hryvnias that the state paid to his brother’s business in temporarily occupied territories. At the time, Shurma insisted that it was supposedly revenge by none other than Kolomoiskyy.
Meanwhile, Kolomoiskyy himself has actively begun commenting on “Mindichgate” during court hearings, calling the president’s business partner a “scapegoat” and a person who “doesn’t have what it takes to lead a mafia.”
According to many sources in political circles, the state leadership is currently most concerned about whether the Head of the Presidential Office could face an official suspicion during the investigation of Carlson’s criminal organization.
“Within the system, everyone understands who was really driving the attack on NABU in July. If it hadn’t started then, if they hadn’t messed up, and if afterwards, instead of calming down, they hadn’t started digging at Klymenko (head of SAPO – UP), the whole ‘Midas’ would have come out in about a year, not now, and not in this form. Everything would have been as usual: someone quietly dismissed, someone quietly held accountable, and that would be it. But because of this attack on NABU, there was no option but to create such a scandal. So everyone understands who really stirred this mess,” a source in Zelenskyy’s team told Ukrainska Pravda.
NSDC secretary “working remotely”
On November 11, against the backdrop of reports that Carlson’s influence on the country’s defense sector is being examined as part of a criminal investigation, former Defense Minister and current Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov left for an urgent business trip to Turkey.
After information from a SAPO prosecutor emerged during court hearings that Mindich had influenced the Defense Minister, Umerov publicly acknowledged that he had been in contact with him, but stated that Mindich had no impact on his decisions.
“Any attempts to link my work in the Ministry of Defense to the ‘influence’ of certain individuals are baseless,” Rustem Umerov wrote on social media in response to the prosecutor’s statement.
The NSDC meeting that imposed sanctions on Israeli citizens Timur Mindich and Oleksandr Tsukerman was held without the secretary present.
Ukrainska Pravda sources among political heavyweights immediately compared this business trip to the “Chernyshov trip,” from which at some point the official had to be returned by the Main Intelligence Directorate.
At the same time, information emerged that Umerov is urgently trying to organize at least some meetings or participate in any international conferences.
As of now, political circles are already betting on whether the top official will return to Ukraine.
Ukrainska Pravda, as in the case of Chernyshov in June this year, sent a request to the NSDC on Saturday, November 15, asking to be informed of the secretary’s return date from the business trip. As of the publication of this article, UP has not received a response.
However, immediately after our request, Umerov posted on social media that he is on a business trip on the president’s assignment.
Meanwhile, on the evening of November 16, Ukrainska Pravda sources close to the President’s Office reported that the NSDC Secretary had arrived in Florida, USA. After that, our sources’ opinions diverged.
Some believe that Umerov came to visit family residing in the state. Others claim that he is supposed to meet with representatives of the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. And while one does not preclude the other, the question of whether the former Defense Minister and current NSDC Secretary plans to return at all and when remains open.
“Everyone here is trying to stay upbeat and convince each other that he will return. But I wouldn’t bet on that. I highly doubt Rustem will be coming back,” one member of Zelenskyy’s circle joked to UP.
On November 17, Suspilne, citing sources in the authorities, reported that Umerov is expected to return to Ukraine on November 20.
“Coalition falling apart”
Any political scandal is a problem not only for those who must leave their positions but also for those expected to fill the vacated roles.
In the case of the energy sector reboot, this involves replacing almost the entire leadership of the industry, including the minister. The traditional personnel shortage that has characterized the authorities in recent years is multiplied here by the scale of the scandal.
Most competent candidates view the possibility of joining the government or Energoatom with horror, knowing they could end up at the center of the “Midas” scandal.
“There were already few willing to enter public service because of PEP and asset declarations, and with the current challenges and scandal, this is a job for kamikazes,” one former member of Zelenskyy’s team told Ukrainska Pravda.
This is why finding replacements for Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk and Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko has proven to be a serious challenge.
Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko submitted their resignations to the Verkhovna Rada last week. Since then, active searches for possible successors have been underway, but these efforts have so far yielded no results.
Thus, on November 18, the Rada is expected to dismiss Hrynchuk and Halushchenko, but is unlikely to appoint anyone in their place.
“No candidates,” a source in the government leadership told Ukrainska Pravda bluntly and resignedly.
“There are two categories: those the authorities would like to appoint but who refuse in every possible way, and those who volunteer but are not wanted,” elaborates the head of one of the parliamentary committees, highlighting the dramatic nature of the personnel story.
For the position at the Ministry of Energy, the authorities’ preferred candidate appears to be the current head of Naftogaz, Serhiy Koretskyi. However, he has already declined several times, explaining that he only recently joined the company, has just brought in some people, arranged financing, launched projects, and wants to see everything through to completion.
“He doesn’t want, at the start of the heating season, to abandon everything at Naftogaz, where he has begun to set up processes under his own management, and jump into the Ministry of Energy, where everyone is demoralized, the energy sector is broken, and the public environment is perfect for career suicide. You can understand why Koretskyi is refusing,” one source in Servant of the People told Ukrainska Pravda.
Besides Koretskyi, sources in the authorities mention MPs Andriy Herus, who heads the parliamentary energy committee, Andriy Zhupanyn, and Yuriy Kamelchuk from the same committee as potential candidates for Energy Minister.
There are not many candidates for Justice Minister either. Prime Minister Svyrydenko proposed to Zelenskyy to combine the functions and make Vice Prime Minister for European Integration Taras Kachka also the Minister of Justice.
“The reasoning is that in these fundamental first clusters on the EU, the Ministry of Justice is supposed to do the lion’s share of the legal work, so everything could be tied to Kachka. But somehow neither the president nor the Rada accepted this idea,” a source among the Servant of the People leadership explained to UP.
For now, the president is gathering various names and options proposed by the prime minister, the Rada leadership, and other members of the ruling team.
As of the beginning of the week, no decisions had been made. The president is physically not in Ukraine, so the plan is for the Rada to simply dismiss the ministers involved in the scandal, the government will appoint acting officials, and the search for candidates will continue.
According to sources in the ruling team, despite all opposition statements, the prime minister’s resignation is not currently being considered.
“Svyrydenko will remain in office with a 90% probability. Simply because there is no alternative. Bringing Shmyhal back now would be even stranger. And there are no other candidates willing to lead the government through the toughest winter,” one member of Zelenskyy’s team told Ukrainska Pravda.
But this is not the biggest problem. A far greater concern for the authorities after the corruption scandal has been the complete demoralization of the system, including the parliament.
The Rada had only just begun to recover in October–November from the July scandal over the attack on NABU and SAPO’s independence. Operation “Midas,” which is clearly linked to the July events, became a true Usyk-style “Ivan” for the parliamentary majority — a devastating knockout blow.
“See, one person makes a huge mess in a day, and it gets spread evenly across everyone,” one senior Servant of the People member told Ukrainska Pravda metaphorically.
The NABU operation was so shocking for the majority that for nearly two days there was an almost complete silence in the Servant of the People party chats. It was only on the second day of the scandal, when Zelenskyy called for the dismissal of ministers and imposed sanctions on Mindich, that MPs began to grasp the new reality.
However, it wasn’t only they who understood it.
“The Rada is in turmoil. Everyone is playing their own game. The coalition is simply being torn apart. Many enemies with money have smelled blood. Our MPs are already being offered ‘cooperation’ (switching to other factions – UP). This could really be the end of everything if there are no decisive actions from the president,” one influential Servant of the People member told Ukrainska Pravda on condition of anonymity.
What exactly such decisive action could or should be is of interest not only to the MPs. Over the past week, the president has met with all key figures from the ruling team. His mandate was clear: to find a solution that would stabilize the situation.
Some of the meetings were confirmed through public reports, including discussions with Prime Minister Svyrydenko, Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate Kyrylo Budanov, and others.
According to Ukrainska Pravda sources familiar with the discussions at these meetings, most of those consulted by the president offered various recommendations for resolving the crisis, but nearly all, without coordinating, advised replacing Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak.
“You can already count in the Rada the people who did not call for his dismissal. There’s no direct blackmail, of course, but if it doesn’t happen, the faction will collapse on its own,” a source among Servant of the People leadership told UP.
The word “blackmail” is no coincidence. Rumor has it that a “coalition of the determined” has formed within the Servant of the People ranks, threatening to even leave the faction if the Head of the Presidential Office is not sent into “well-deserved retirement.”
UP spoke with most of the internal groups within Servant of the People regarding this initiative, and it appears that the organizational center of this “revolutionary committee” can be traced to the orbit of the Arachamiya–Hetmantsev tandem in alliance with the faction’s liberal wing.
It is still difficult to judge whether this initiative has enough momentum. A clear indication of how tense the situation in the Rada is can be seen in the fate of the 2026 budget.
It was scheduled to be considered in the second reading during this plenary week. However, to avoid a failed vote, the Rada leadership and Servant of the People have decided to postpone consideration until December.
“We need to wait out the storm, because we cannot afford to fail this vote,” one senior Servant of the People member concluded.
“No promises, no forgiveness”
“The president is expected to return to the country Wednesday evening,” an influential source told Ukrainska Pravda, awaiting the next steps to resolve the crisis.
None of the UP sources involved in state decision-making doubts the need for a real, not cosmetic, reboot.
It is still unclear what exactly they mean by a “reboot” that would make this entire “management system” simply disappear — especially considering that the former Kolomoiskyy consigliere controlled not only half of Kvartal-95 but also half the country.
How many interconnected officials were sustained at the expense of the country’s energy sector, broken by the enemy, is something even NABU and SAPO do not yet know.
“Open the declaration of DBR Head Sukhachov and see where his wife received her salary. There’s Energoatom. And did the DBR investigate them?” an influential source in law enforcement told Ukrainska Pravda.
Indeed, according to the online service YouControl, in 2023 Iryna Sukhachova received UAH 190,000 in salary from Energoatom.
In addition to Energoatom, since 2023 the DBR chief’s wife has also received a salary from the state-owned company Market Operator, which is owned by the Ministry of Energy: UAH 150,000 in 2023 and over UAH 4.5 million in 2024. This is significantly more than Sukhachov himself earns.
At the hearing on the preventive measure, former Vice Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, accused of receiving over one million dollars from these criminal schemes, insisted that he had no involvement in the alleged dealings. This was despite the investigation emphasizing the existence of relevant correspondence between Chernyshov’s wife and the key figures. Ironically, the power went out during the same court session.
“If the guarantor isn’t with them, then let him show it,” an influential official, who is also awaiting an appropriate response from the president, summed up.
Meanwhile, opinions among Ukraine’s strategic partners regarding Operation “Midas” and the political crisis it triggered are divided.
According to informed Ukrainska Pravda sources in political circles, the EU Ambassador to Ukraine, Katarina Mathernova, criticized the way the political elite was exposed during the war, calling it overly media-focused. Last week, Mathernova met with Yermak at the Presidential Office.
In contrast, the United States and the United Kingdom emphasize the need for an objective investigation of all circumstances, without interference in the work of anti-corruption bodies and with full cooperation from the authorities.
It is now clear that restoring trust in the authorities, both within the country and abroad, will be extremely difficult — especially if, for example, the NSDC Secretary does not return to Ukraine or another top suspect flees.
Meanwhile, sources at the anti-corruption bodies told Ukrainska Pravda that plans for further pressure on NABU and SAPO are still on the table at the Presidential Office and the Prosecutor General’s Office.
