No decision yet on new energy and justice ministers, but several candidates under consideration – UP sources

The Ukrainian authorities have not yet decided on candidates for the posts of energy and justice ministers. However, Serhii Koretskyi, CEO of Naftogaz Group, Ukraine's largest national oil and gas company, is being considered for energy minister, as are Andrii Herus, Andrii Zhupanyn and Yurii Kamelchuk, three MPs who sit on the Parliamentary Energy Committee. The Ministry of Justice may be headed by Taras Kachka, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration.

Source: Ukrainska Pravda article Mindichgate: one week on from the corruption scandal, what's going on in the government? (English translation coming soon)

Details: The authorities have yet to find replacements for Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk and Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko.

The Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) plans to dismiss Hrynchuk and Halushchenko on 18 November, but it is unlikely that anyone will be appointed in their place. A senior government source said, "There are no candidates."

The chair of a Verkhovna Rada committee said there are two categories of potential ministers: "People the authorities would like to appoint but who absolutely refuse, and people who put themselves forward but whom the authorities don't want."

Koretskyi is the preferred candidate for energy minister, but he has already turned down the job several times, pointing out that he only recently took over at Naftogaz.

A Servant of the People source told Ukrainska Pravda: "It's the start of the heating season, and he doesn't want to abandon everything at Naftogaz, where he's begun to put processes in place, and move to the Ministry of Energy, where everyone's demoralised, the energy sector is in disarray, and the public environment is just right for career suicide."

Other potential candidates for energy minister mentioned by government sources include the MPs Andrii Herus, chair of the Parliamentary Energy Committee, and Andrii Zhupanyn and Yurii Kamelchuk, who sit on the same committee.

Regarding the Justice Ministry, Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko has suggested to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the responsibilities be combined so that Taras Kachka would also serve as justice minister.

Quote from a senior Servant of the People official: "The idea was that the Ministry of Justice has to do the bulk of the legal work on these first 'Fundamentals' EU clusters, so everything could be tied to Kachka. But neither the president nor parliament accepted that idea."

Details: As of the beginning of this week, no decisions have been made. The plan is that the Verkhovna Rada will simply dismiss the ministers implicated in the scandal, the government will appoint acting ministers, and the search for candidates will continue.

Background:

• The Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office noted that Tymur Mindich, the organiser of a money-laundering scheme through Ukraine's state-owned nuclear energy company Energoatom and a close friend of Zelenskyy, built connections with former Energy and Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko through his "backing" by Zelenskyy.
• In one episode on the NABU tapes, Zelenskyy called Halushchenko after receiving a message from Mindich.
• The investigation revealed that Svitlana Hrynchuk had stayed overnight at Halushchenko's house several times – a fact that is also being investigated as part of the case.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!