Opposition lawmakers in Ukraine begin push to oust energy minister

Ukrainian opposition parliamentarians said on Friday they were initiating a procedure to oust Energy Minister German Galushchenko, citing corruption allegations, though it is unlikely to succeed in the near term.

Galushchenko has overseen Ukraine's energy sector since April 2021, nearly a year before Russia launched its full-scale invasion in Feb. 2022. He is responsible for the power grid and other key infrastructure often targeted by Russia's military.

"I have been following the work of the energy minister since the day he was appointed. And over this time, enough reasons have accumulated to warrant his dismissal," Inna Sovsun, a lawmaker from the Holos party and a member of parliament's energy committee, said on Facebook.

Sovsun said she had lodged a parliamentary resolution for Galushchenko's dismissal, initiating the process.

There was no immediate comment from the minister. He has previously denied all corruption allegations.

Opposition parties have regularly accused Galushchenko of corruption and of failing to ensure adequate physical protection of power facilities from Russian missile attacks.

The reasons justifying his dismissal include "systemic corruption", disregard of parliament, and damaging the reputation of Ukraine's energy ministry among its allies, another lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said on Telegram.

The resolution is unlikely to garner enough votes in the near term but puts an additional spotlight on the dire situation in Ukraine's energy sector and keeps up pressure on the country's political leadership.

Galushchenko also oversees a major fund allocating money from Ukraine's allies to support repair work on damaged facilities. Kyiv depends heavily on foreign aid to be able to keep energy system running.

Ukraine has lost at least 10 GW of power generating capacity due to Russia's attacks, officials say, and has had to introduce regular hours-long power cuts for citizens and businesses.