Could Ukraine’s corruption crisis ‘lead to military defeat’ against Russia?

Kyiv, Ukraine – A corruption scandal that involves President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s business partner, political allies, and a cast of presumed wrongdoers who profited from a nuclear power monopoly has roiled energy-starved Ukraine.

Observers told Al Jazeera that the scandal may ruin Zelenskyy’s approval ratings, enrage Western donors and cause a political crisis that could lead to battlefield losses.

“What’s actually happening is the marauding of a state-owned company during the war, and that’s very painful for the people,” Tetiana Shevchenko of the Anti-Corruption Action Center, a group in Kyiv, told Al Jazeera.

Timur Mindich, who co-owned the District 95 comic troupe that propelled Zelenskyy to stardom and a subsequent presidency, is the presumed mastermind of the corruption schem