The Prime Minister writes in a post on X late Wednesday afternoon that she has submitted a motion to dismiss both ministers.
Shortly before that, Svitlana Hryntchuk posted a handwritten note on Facebook confirming her resignation. She also denied any “professional misconduct.” She also thanked Zelensky and the government for the opportunity to work in various roles over the past ten years.
Demands from Zelenskyy
Halushchenko, in turn, was suspended from his role as Minister of Justice earlier in the day.
Both sorties follow a demand from the country's president.
"The Minister of Justice and the Minister of Energy cannot keep their positions," Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social platforms. He added that it is "completely unacceptable that there are (corruption) schemes in the energy sector" at a time when Ukraine is suffering from daily and widespread power outages due to Russian attacks on the country's energy facilities.
On Monday, it was announced that Ukraine's anti-corruption agency Nabu had carried out 70 raids against the country's energy sector, after a 15-month investigation.
Suspected money laundering
Nabu says it has uncovered a "high-level criminal organization" in which bribes were linked to contracts awarded by the nuclear power company Energoatom. Around the equivalent of 100 million US dollars has passed through a money laundering scheme, according to Nabu.
Halushchenko's portfolio will be taken over by Lyudmyla Suhak, who until now was Deputy Minister of Justice with responsibility for European integration. The new Minister of Energy has not yet been announced.
