Ukraine’s ex-energy minister arrested while attempting to leave country

A former Ukrainian energy minister has been detained on suspicion of money laundering and criminal activity in a high-profile kickback case, anti-graft prosecutors announced on Monday, withholding his name.

The arrest is linked to the 'Midas' case, an alleged Herman Halushchenko $100m (£79m) kickback scheme at the state atomic agency. This scandal previously forced two energy ministers to resign and implicated senior officials, business elites, and a former associate of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

The scandal also cost Mr Zelenskiy's chief of staff his job. All involved have denied wrongdoing.

"We are talking about the former energy minister of Ukraine (2021 to 2025)," special anti-graft prosecutors said on the Telegram messaging app. "He is charged with money laundering and participation in a criminal organisation."

The former minister was detained over the weekend while attempting to leave Ukraine, the prosecutors said.

"During the suspect's tenure ... the criminal organisation received more than $112 million in cash from illegal activities in the energy sector," Ukraine's National Anti-corruption Bureau said in a statement.

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Materials obtained in Ukraine and through international cooperation with the competent authorities of a number of countries furnished the basis for its conclusion, the bureau added.

The arrests comes as Ukraine agreed new energy and military support packages with European allies ahead of the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion on February 24.

Kyiv is aiming to rally support among partners as it struggles to fend off Russian battlefield advances and air attacks on its energy system while under U.S. pressure to negotiate peace.

"In Munich, we agreed with the leaders of the Berlin Format on specific packages of energy and military aid for Ukraine by February 24," Zelenskiy wrote on X.

Zelenskiy said on Friday after a meeting of the so-called Berlin Format of about a dozen European leaders in Munich that he had hoped for new support, including air-defence missiles.

"I am grateful to our partners for their readiness to help, and we count on all deliveries arriving promptly," he added.

Russian attacks on major cities such as Kyiv have battered Ukraine's energy infrastructure, plunging millions of residents into power outages of varying periods in freezing cold weather.

Zelenskiy added that Russia had launched around 1,300 attack drones, 1,200 guided aerial bombs and dozens of ballistic missiles at Ukraine over the past week alone.