Canada says a growing corruption scandal in Ukraine will not derail its support for the war-ravaged country, but Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand emphasized that Ottawa expects Kyiv to carry out strong anti-corruption reforms. Ukraine’s anti-corruption authorities announced they had detained five people and identified two more suspects in an alleged scheme involving efforts to seize control of procurement at the state nuclear agency Energoatom and other state-run enterprises.
The revelations triggered the resignations of Ukraine’s justice and energy ministers and raised concerns about what senior government officials knew about the operation. The controversy is quickly becoming one of Kyiv’s most serious internal crises since Russia launched its full-scale invasion, with media reports suggesting the plot may involve a close associate of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The alleged scheme—worth an estimated $100 million—could provide ammunition for critics in Western countries who want to scale back assistance to Ukraine once the war ends. Canada has delivered nearly $22 billion in aid to Kyiv since 2022.
