Authorities yet to decide who will lead Energy and Justice ministries, but several candidates under consideration

Mykhailo Tkach, Roman Romaniuk, Alona Mazurenko - 18 November, 01:25

Herman Halushchenko and Svitlana Hrynchuk. Photo: MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak on social media

The authorities have not yet decided on candidates for the posts of energy and justice ministers. However, the Ministry of Energy is considering Serhii Koretskyi, CEO of Naftogaz Group, Ukraine's largest national oil and gas company, as well as parliamentarians from the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Energy Andrii Herus, Andrii Zhupanyn and Yurii Kamelchuk, while the Ministry of Justice could be headed by Taras Kachka, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration.

Source: Ukrainska Pravda article Mindichgate. What is happening in the government a week after the anti-corruption scandal? (English translation to follow shortly)

Details: The authorities still have not found replacements for Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk and Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko.

On 18 November, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) plans to dismiss Hrynchuk and Halushchenko, but it is unlikely that anyone will be appointed in their place. According to a source in the government leadership, "there are no candidates".

The head of a Verkhovna Rada committee said there are two categories of potential ministers: "Those whom the authorities would like to appoint but who refuse and those who volunteer but are not wanted."

For the Ministry of Energy, the authorities' preferred candidate is Koretskyi. However, he has refused several times, explaining that he only recently joined Naftogaz.

One source within the Servant of the People party told Ukrainska Pravda that Koretskyi "does not want to leave Naftogaz at the beginning of the heating season, where he has begun to establish processes under his leadership, to move to the Ministry of Energy, where everyone is demoralised, the energy sector is in disarray and the public environment is perfect for career suicide."

Other potential candidates for minister of energy mentioned by sources in the authorities include MPs Andrii Herus, who heads the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Energy, Andrii Zhupanyn and Yurii Kamelchuk from the same committee.

Regarding the Ministry of Justice, Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko suggested to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to combine functions and make Taras Kachka also minister of justice.

Quote from a source among the top officials of Servant of the People: "The idea is that in these fundamental EU clusters, the Ministry of Justice should carry out the bulk of the legal work, so everything could be tied to Kachka. But neither the president nor the Verkhovna Rada accepted this idea."

Details: No decisions had been made as of the beginning of the week. It is planned that the Verkhovna Rada will dismiss the ministers, 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 repeatedly stayed overnight at Halushchenko's house – a fact that is also being investigated as part of the case.

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