Ukraine's energy and justice ministers have resigned following a major corruption investigation into the country's energy sector.
President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded the dismissal of Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk and Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko on Wednesday.
On Monday, anti-corruption bodies accused several people of orchestrating an embezzlement scheme in the energy sector worth about $100 million, including the national nuclear operator Enerhoatom.
Some of those involved in the scandal are - or have been - close associates of Zelensky, writes BBC, the Telegraph reports.
The allegation is that Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko and other top ministers and officials received payments from contractors building fortifications against Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.
Among those suspected of involvement are former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov and Timur Mindich - a businessman and co-owner of Zelensky's former television studio, Kvartal95. He has since reportedly fled the country.
Halushchenko said he would defend himself against the charges, while Grynchuk said on social media: "Within the scope of my professional activities there have been no violations of the law."
Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) said the investigation - which lasted 15 months and included 1,000 hours of audio recordings - revealed the participation of several members of the Ukrainian government.
According to Nabu, the individuals involved systematically collected bribes from Enerhoatom contractors worth between 10% and 15% of contract values.
Anti-corruption authorities also said that large sums of money were laundered in the scheme and published photographs of bags full of cash. The funds were then transferred outside Ukraine, including to Russia, Nabu said.
Prosecutors alleged that the scheme's proceeds were laundered through an office in Kiev linked to the family of former Ukrainian lawmaker and current Russian senator Andriy Derkach.
Nabu has been releasing new excerpts of its investigation and intercepts every day, and on Tuesday promised more to come.
The scandal is unfolding against the backdrop of escalating Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities, including substations that supply electricity to nuclear power plants.
It will also shed light on corruption in Ukraine, which continues to be endemic despite the work of Nabu and Sap in the 10 years since their creation.
In July, nationwide protests erupted over changes curbing the independence of Nabu and Sap.
Ukrainians feared that the nation could lose its coveted EU candidate status, which was granted on condition that it wage a credible fight against corruption.
Kiev's European partners also expressed alarm at the decision, with ambassadors from the G7 group of nations expressing a desire to discuss the issue with the Ukrainian leadership.
The backlash was the harshest to hit the Ukrainian government since Russia's full-scale invasion began in 2022 and was only dampened by Zelensky's decision to restore the independence of two anti-corruption bodies. /Telegraph
