A survey has found that 59% of Ukrainians who are aware of Operation Midas believe that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy bears personal responsibility for the corrupt actions of Tymur Mindich, a businessman and co-owner of Kvartal 95, the Ukrainian TV production company Zelenskyy founded before he became president.

Source: a survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), conducted between 26 November and 13 December as part of the nationwide Omnibus public opinion study commissioned by the NGO Centre for Strategic Communications Forum

Details: According to the survey, 77% of respondents said they were aware of the investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) into alleged corruption schemes involving Mindich. Of these, 35% said they were well informed about the substance of the case, while 42% said they had heard something about it but lacked a comprehensive understanding. Meanwhile, 22% of respondents said they knew nothing about the investigation.

Among respondents who are aware of the case, 71% consider the investigation justified and believe that corrupt actions may have taken place. Another 15% described the investigation as questionable and aimed at pressuring the country's top leadership, while 15% were undecided.

In addition, 59% of those aware of the investigation believe that Zelenskyy is personally responsible for Mindich's actions. This view is not shared by 30% of respondents, while 11% were undecided.

For reference: The survey was conducted between 26 November and 13 December as part of the nationwide Omnibus public opinion study commissioned by the NGO Centre for Strategic Communications Forum. A total of 1,000 respondents were interviewed by telephone using a random sample of mobile phone numbers across all regions of Ukraine (Ukrainian-controlled territories). The survey covered adult citizens of Ukraine aged 18 and over who, at the time of the survey, were living in territory controlled by the Ukrainian government. Residents of territories temporarily not controlled by the Ukrainian authorities were not included, although some respondents were internally displaced persons who had moved from occupied territories. The survey did not include citizens who left Ukraine after 24 February 2022.

Under normal circumstances, the formal statistical margin of error for such a sample, with a probability of 0.95 and taking into account a design effect of 1.3, would not exceed 4.1% for indicators close to 50%, 3.5% for indicators close to 25%, 2.5% for indicators close to 10%, and 1.8% for indicators close to 5%.

Under wartime conditions, in addition to this formal margin of error, a certain systematic deviation is added. Factors that may affect the quality of results under wartime conditions were previously outlined by KIIS.

Read more: The president's men: how Zelenskyy's friends plundered Ukraine during the war

Background:

• On the morning of 10 November, it was revealed that NABU detectives had conducted searches at the homes of Tymur Mindich and Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko (who was suspended as of 12 November). Ukrainska Pravda sources also reported that Mindich left Ukraine hours before the searches.
• That same day, NABU reported that they had exposed a large-scale corruption scheme in the energy sector and released audio recordings.
• On 11 November, journalists identified all the individuals implicated in the large-scale investigation into corruption at Energoatom who had been formally notified of suspicion by NABU. An investigative reporting project by Skhemy found that notices of suspicion had been served on Tymur Mindich (referred to as "Karlsson" on the NABU tapes), former adviser to the energy minister Ihor Myroniuk ("Rocket"), Energoatom's executive director for security Dmytro Basov ("Tenor"), Oleksandr Tsukerman ("Sugarman"), Ihor Fursenko ("Roshyk"), Lesia Ustymenko and Liudmyla Zorina.
• Five people from the list were detained, while two, Mindich and Tsukerman, left Ukraine.
• On 12 November, Kvartal 95 responded to the suspicion announced by NABU against Mindich in the energy corruption case, stressing that he does not participate in the studio's activities and does not influence its content.
• On 13 November, Zelenskyy enacted a decision of the National Security and Defence Council imposing sanctions on Mindich and Tsukerman.

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