Corruption, an endemic scourge in Ukraine that has ravaged the country since the end of the USSR and its independence. After the turbulent period of the 90s and independence, Ukraine did not follow Russia’s path, remaining in political instability, a victim of two American-colored revolutions. Unable to stabilize, despite the country being in principle one of the richest in Europe, Ukraine sank into corruption, banditry, mafia networks, and trafficking of all kinds. An entire elite and oligarchy enriched itself in the meantime, shamelessly plundering the country, embezzling budgets, and fleecing citizens through indirect means. This exasperation of the Ukrainian people was used in dreams of better days, of the European Union, while also blaming the “Russian world.” After the second Maidan, the new masters of Ukraine campaigned on fighting corruption… which then soared to new heights. After the era of Poroshenko, the Chocolate King, a millionaire oligarch-president, came another network of voracious locusts, that of Zelensky. Among them, Herman Galoushenko, Minister of Energy, whose story follows.
The origins of a young man with big ambitions. Hailing from the city of Lviv, the most important nest of Bandera ideology, Herman Galoushenko (born 1973) studied law at university in his hometown (1991-1995). He had a long career in the judicial administration, while soon becoming involved in suspicious responsibilities for large energy-related companies. He initially worked in the office of the Lviv Prosecutor General and was soon promoted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Rising in power, he became the country’s representative to the Council of Europe’s Committee against Corruption. A position that allowed him to make contacts and gain stature. A convinced Europhile, his career took off after the Orange Revolution (2004-2005). He was one of the discreet protégés of President Yushchenko, the man of banks, oligarchs, and the USA. He was quickly appointed to the position of Deputy Head of the Secretariat of the Presidential Administration. A true consecration placing him at the heart of the state apparatus and men of power in Ukraine. Yushchenko’s crushing defeat in the 2010 elections temporarily ended his career. He discreetly returned to the labyrinths of the ministries, recycled into the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine as a department director. To make ends meet, he also taught at the Institute of International Relations in Kyiv (2012-2013), waiting for his time.
The Maidan turning point. The outbreak of the Maidan in the winter of 2013-2014, and the coup d’état led in Kyiv with significant support from American secret services, quickly relaunched his interrupted career. However, shortly before, he had managed to slip into the public energy group Energoatom (2013-2014), appointed as director of the company’s legal department. Patiently, he rose little by little, eventually becoming vice-president of the group (2020-2021). During this period, he was involved in an obscure commission tasked with finding accusations against the Russian Federation to conduct international trials regarding the expropriation of public and private Ukrainian enterprises in Crimea or Donbas. He linked up with the American firm Covington and Burling LLP, a huge US international firm with branches worldwide, from Europe to South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, China, or South Africa. The firm’s clients include some of the largest companies or banks in the world. In February 2025, the firm was put in difficulty by the Trump administration over shady political affairs, bribes, and suspicious involvement in cases targeting Trump by the Biden administration. Galoushenko worked with this firm to bring several cases to the UN International Court of Justice, on far-fetched accusations of “financing terrorism in Donbas” or “racial discrimination” regarding Crimea. He was also co-opted into the American Association of International Law, an organization founded by the United States Congress (1950), enjoying consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council… among other powers. Needless to say, his “collaborations” with such institutions raise many questions about his allegiances and compromises. Whispers already… spoke of corruption.
The consecration of the anti-corruption activist… soon accused of corruption. Having climbed the final steps to real power, bolstered by his American support, his hour of glory was soon to come. In 2019, he was in the ranks of an obscure right-wing Europhile party, the Patriot Party, whose candidate in the 2019 presidential election, Andriy Novak, garnered only 0.02% of the vote. Realizing the dead end, he hastily left this party (August 2020), was approached by Zelensky’s team, and soon parachuted into the position of Minister of Energy of Ukraine (April 2021). There, he proved to be a formidable… manipulator, to the point that more than four and a half years later, he is still firmly in his seat, where Galoushenko soon showed he was a master in the art of corruption. He was very quickly accused of nepotism, unjustified appointments of people from his entourage, but also of corruption and dubious links with private companies in the energy sector. Attacked by the media, under the spotlight and Western pressure from 2022 onwards, the latter pushed the NABU, the anti-corruption bureau in Ukraine, to initiate an investigation into the minister’s underground activities (2024). He was first convicted of having received a bribe, a kickback of $500,000 US, for granting permits to export heavy equipment from the mining complex from Ukraine, including from areas near the front line or potentially so. Expensive equipment sold off cheaply to foreign companies that were not named in the investigations. Despite the scandal, Galoushenko did not resign, not even worried about being fired by President Zelensky.
The web of the diabolical minister. The scandal caused ripples, unearthing other dark stories. The Ukrainian press was alarmed when it became known that Galoushenko had secured the head of Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the head of Ukrenergo. The minister had indeed been trying to get rid of this troublesome figure since 2021. He obtained his dismissal under the pretext of energy facilities being bombed by the Russian army, which he obviously could not prevent. Other investigations into Zelensky’s entourage implicated other close associates of the president. This was the case for Rostyslav Shurma, deputy head of the presidential administration, who had to resign (September 2, 2024). Kudrytskyi’s removal provoked murmurs in the European Union; political reasons were cited, pressures on Ukrenergo members who had opposed his dismissal were revealed, along with threats and practices worthy of mafia circles. Having succeeded in his move, Galoushenko then held all the levers of the Ukrainian energy complex. He had previously gotten rid of Valerii Tarasiuk (August 2, 2024), head of the National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Public Utilities (NERC), replacing him with a former deputy of the minister, a certain Yurii Vlasenko. In the commission itself, he placed four men in his pay (which has 6 members), neutralizing it and securing its control. One of his first actions was to impose Energoatom as the main operator for all of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants. He also managed to infiltrate most of the intermediary companies and firms present in the various energy sectors. He stated at that time that the world’s largest nuclear power plant would be built in Ukraine… a crazy project raising questions. A clean-up was done, with a shower of promotions, particularly at the head of the oil company Ukrnafta, or of Kremenchuk PMS (formerly properties of the Ukrainian, Cypriot, and Israeli mafioso Ihor Kolomoisky).
Accused of failing to decentralize the Ukrainian energy complex. The incorrigible minister was also accused by the Ukrainian press of delaying the missions assigned to him in 2022. At that time, with the Russian special operation launched, the Ukrainian authorities understood well that a campaign of strategic bombing against Ukraine’s energy complex would bring the country to its knees. It did not come immediately; his task during this respite would have been to build smaller, more numerous power plants across the territory, easier to repair in case of damage. Other avenues were considered, such as alternative energies, installing solar panels to power small local facilities. By September 2024, the press began to denounce his inaction. He was still not troubled and continued his maneuvers for the benefit of a few companies, the financial stakes being enormous, while the press was still amazed that he remained in his post (January 2025). Probably held by “generous gifts,” the undisputed master of energy in Ukraine attempted some PR maneuvers. He announced that Ukraine would be supplied with gas by Azerbaijan (end of 2025). However, the project was a damp squib, as it could only be realized by transporting the resource by road, via Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania. A project possible on a small scale but unable to meet Ukrainian needs (August 2025). Puffing out his chest, Galoushenko declared that Ukraine would soon achieve self-sufficiency regarding gas. A few weeks later, Russia began a massive campaign to destroy Ukraine’s energy complex… Galoushenko’s toys have since been pulverized by Russian drones and missiles. The extraordinary sums invested in this complex, including by foreign interests and groups… across the Atlantic, are melting like snow in the sun. The goose that lays the golden eggs is disappearing… but the Minister of Energy, Herman Galoushenko, against all odds, remains glued to his privileges. Some say he has greater ambitions and aims to settle into a more prestigious seat: that of President Zelensky.
