Ukraine's EU bid hinges on corruption fight — Polish FM Sikorski
global.espreso.tv
Fri, 14 Nov 2025 16:48:00 +0200

Polsat News reported the information.Radosław Sikorski was asked if the corruption scandal in Ukraine should affect Poland's support for Ukraine."Today, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka was my guest, and he heard this message directly from me, by the way, not for the first time, that the easiest way to lose Western support is to tolerate corruption in Ukraine," the Foreign Minister said.As the head of Polish diplomacy noted, there have been resignations and arrests in Ukraine in this matter, which, in his opinion, is "rather an example of an appropriate reaction from the state authorities," while also noting: "although we know there were attempts to strip the anti-corruption agency of its powers." "How the Ukrainian authorities react to this will be crucial... If Ukraine tolerates corruption, it will not join the European Union. The EU demands honesty, the application of procedures," the minister said.The head of Polish diplomacy also emphasized Poland's interest in supporting Ukraine."For us, Ukraine is a functional buffer, protection against Russian aggression. Ukraine is fighting bravely. Not in Medyka, but a few hundred kilometers from our borders, there are kilometer-long cemeteries of brave Ukrainians who died in the war that pushed Putin's army away from our borders. Let's remember this, let's remember this solidarity with Ukraine," he stressed."Of course, Ukrainians must abide by our laws, of course, we expect most of them to return to their country after the war, but today let's show wisdom and solidarity," Radosław Sikorski urged.BackgroundOn November 10, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau reported that an exposed criminal organization had been operating in the energy sector and systematically receiving improper benefits from Energoatom's counterparties—amounting to 10% to 15% of the value of concluded contracts. The scheme was informally named the "barrier.""The National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office are conducting a large-scale operation to expose corruption in the energy sector. 15 months of work and 1000 hours of audio recordings. The activities of a high-level criminal organization have been documented," stated the National Anti-Corruption Bureau.On the same day, Ukrainska Pravda reported: detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau arrived on the morning of November 10 to conduct searches at the premises of Timur Mindich, a co-owner of the Kvartal 95 studio and an associate of Zelenskyy. The businessman himself had left the territory of Ukraine shortly before this. Later, searches were conducted at the premises of the Minister of Justice, Herman Halushchenko.Detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau also established that the criminal group laundered approximately $100 million in illegally obtained funds. This took place on premises belonging to the former lawmaker and current Russian senator, Andrii Derkach.At the same time, the head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, Oleksandr Klymenko, created a commission to conduct an internal investigation into a possible data leak in the energy corruption case.Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that government officials must work with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau to achieve results in the detectives' investigation into energy corruption.On November 11, detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau announced notices of suspicion to seven individuals in the energy sector corruption case and detained five of the figures involved.









