Ukraine is currently embroiled in a deepening corruption crisis, as it has been revealed that the newly appointed head of peace talks, tasked with negotiating an end to Russia’s invasion, is implicated in a £76 million scandal. This development has further complicated the nation’s efforts to restore peace.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) are conducting investigations into claims that a network of eight individuals, including government officials, have been accepting bribes from Energoatom, the state-owned nuclear power company. These officials are accused of siphoning off 10-15 percent from the value of each contract, diverting a substantial sum of £76 million that could have potentially fortified Ukraine’s defenses against Russian aggression.

This corruption scandal has sent shockwaves through Ukraine at a time when the nation is actively engaging in diplomatic efforts worldwide to resolve the ongoing conflict with Russia. The investigation has led to the resignation of Andriy Yermak, a key figure in President Volodymyr Zelensky’s administration. Yermak, who was previously considered one of the most influential figures in Ukraine and served as Zelensky’s chief of staff, stepped down following raids by anti-corruption investigators at his residence and office.

Yermak was scheduled to travel to Florida for discussions with senior officials from the Trump administration regarding a proposed peace plan aimed at ending the nearly four-year-long conflict. His resignation marks a significant setback in Ukraine’s peace negotiation efforts, casting a shadow over the country’s diplomatic initiatives.

Yermak, once considered the second-most powerful man in Ukraine, was due to be in Florida to speak with top Trump officials about a peace plan that would end the nearly four-year-long war. 

He was instead replaced by Rustem Umierov, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, who was called up at the last minute. 

But Umierov, the 43-year-old former minister of defence, is also caught up in the same anti-corruption investigation, having been called in as a witness as recently as November 25. 

A NABU spokesperson said: ‘Rustem Umierov was summoned to NABU as a witness to give evidence in criminal proceedings with respect to interference in the work of a state official.

‘The conversation was constructive. Rustem Umierov answered all the investigators’ questions within the framework of procedural law’.

Rustem Umierov (pictured, right of Zelensky) was called up to the negotiating team at the last minute to replace Andriy Yermak

A Ukrainian serviceman of the 100th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fires a Bohdana self-propelled howitzer towards Russian troops from a position on a front line, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine near the frontline town of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk region, Ukraine November 29, 2025

It was previously alleged that Umierov was being influenced by the head of the scheme, Ukrainian businessman Timur Mindich – who is a long-time contact of Zelensky’s. 

Ukrainska Pravda reported that a SAPO prosecutor told an anti-corruption court earlier this month: ‘The investigation established that throughout 2025, Mindich engaged in criminal activities in the energy sector by influencing energy minister Halushchenko, and in the defence sector by influencing defence minister Umierov’.

According to the prosecution, Mindich’s scheme to allegedly siphon off state funds relied on his personal connections to Umierov, Halushchenko and other senior officials. 

He has denied these allegations, writing in response in a social media post that he only met Mindich over a contract to supply ballistic vests to the army, a contract that was terminated over Mindich’s failure to provide proper equipment.   

Umierov wrote: ‘Any attempts to link my work in the Ministry of Defense with the ‘influence’ of some individuals are unfounded’. 

Umierov’s appointment as a top negotiator in this crucial stage of the nearly four-year-long conflict was met with ire.   

Ukrainian politician Volodymyr Ariev told the Washington Post that Zelensky had ‘resigned one corruption scandal [figure] and appointed as the head of the negotiating team another one.’

He said Ukraine needs officials who are not loyal to the president ;but professional and oriented to defend Ukraine’s interests.’

A drone view of a church damaged by Russian military strike as Ukrainian serviceman stands on it , amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk region, Ukraine November 28, 2025

A local resident and firefighters look on at a fire in a damaged private house following a drone attack to Kyiv on November 29, 2025

Following the high-level talks in Florida, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said: ‘There are a lot of moving parts, and obviously there’s another party involved here that will have to be a part of the equation, and that will continue later this week, when Mr. Witkoff travels to Moscow, although we’ve also been in touch in varying degrees with the Russian side, but we have a pretty good understanding of their views as well’. 

Umerov himself said before the talks: ‘We are discussing about the future of Ukraine, about the security of Ukraine, about no repetition of aggression of Ukraine, about prosperity of Ukraine, about how to rebuild Ukraine.

‘We’re thankful for the efforts of the United States and its team in helping us. The US is hearing us, US is supporting us, the US is walking beside us, and we’re thankful for all that has been done.’

The talks mark the start of a major week for Ukrainian diplomats and leaders. 

Zelensky is set to meet Emmanuel Macron, his French counterpart, in Paris on Monday. 

And later this week, American officials including Donald Trump’s top envoy Steve Witkoff are set to travel to Moscow to meet Kremlin officials and try to negotiate an end to the war.  

Eager to please Trump, Kyiv and Moscow have ostensibly welcomed the peace plan and the push to end the war. 

But Russia has continued attacking Ukraine and reiterated its maximalist demands, indicating a deal is still a long way off.

The fire rages after a Russian missile hit a multi-story residential building in Vyshgorod, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, early Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025

Firefighters work to extinguish the blaze after a Russian strike hit the central market in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, injuring one woman, on November 29, 2025

Putin implied last week that he will fight as a long as it takes to achieve his goals, saying that he will stop only when Ukrainian troops withdraw from all four Ukrainian regions that Russia illegally annexed in 2022 and still doesn’t fully control. ‘If they don’t withdraw, we’ll achieve this by force. That’s all,’ he said.

The plan, Putin said, ‘could form the basis for future agreements,’ but it is in no way final and requires ‘a serious discussion.’

Zelensky has refrained from talking about individual points, opting instead to thank Trump profusely for his efforts and emphasising the need for Europe – whose interests are more closely aligned with Ukraine’s – to be involved. He also has stressed the importance of robust security guarantees for Ukraine.

The first version of the plan granted some core Russian demands that Ukraine considers nonstarters, such as ceding land to Moscow that it doesn’t yet occupy and renouncing its bid to become a member of NATO.

Zelensky has said repeatedly that giving up territory is not an option. One of the Ukrainian negotiators told The Associated Press that Ukraine’s president wanted to discuss the territory issue with Trump directly. Yermak then told The Atlantic in an interview on Thursday that Zelensky would not sign over the land.

Zelensky also maintains that NATO membership is the cheapest way to guarantee Ukraine’s security, and NATO’s 32 member countries said last year that Ukraine is on an ‘irreversible’ path to membership. Since he took office, Trump has made it clear that NATO membership is off the table.

Moscow, in turn, has bristled at any suggestion of a Western peacekeeping force on the ground in Ukraine, and stressed that keeping Ukraine out of NATO and NATO out of Ukraine was one of the core goals of the war.

Residents move through the dark alleys following a Russian drone attack on November 30, 2025 in Kyiv, Ukraine

Ukrainian priests stand as mourners light flares during the funeral ceremony of Artur Vilchynskyi, a Ukrainian soldier of the “Barracuda” air reconnaissance unit who was recently killed in action in the Chernihiv region, at the National Military Memorial Cemetery near Kyiv on November 28, 2025

NATO and the EU are holding several meetings this week focused on Ukraine. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is hosting Ukrainian Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal for talks in Brussels on Monday, and EU defence and foreign ministers are gathering to discuss European military support for Ukraine and Europe’s defence readiness.

On Wednesday, NATO foreign ministers will gather again in Brussels.

The main issue for the EU right now is what to do with the frozen Russian assets in Belgium that the Trump peace plan in its initial version sought to use for post-war investment in Ukraine.

Those funds are central to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s strategy to ensure continued help for Ukraine while also maintaining pressure on Russia. But Belgium’s prime minister is holding out, worried about the legal implications of tapping the frozen assets for Ukraine, the impact that could have on the euro – and of Russian retaliation.

The diplomacy set in motion by Trump’s peace plan ‘painfully exposed’ Europe’s weakness, Nigel Gould-Davies of the International Institute for Strategic Studies wrote in a recent commentary.

‘Despite being the main source of Ukraine’s economic and military support, it is marginal to the diplomacy of the war and has done little more than offer amendments to America’s draft peace plan,’ Gould-Davies wrote.