Ukraine has reportedly removed an anti-corruption clause from the US-drafted peace plan for the conflict with Russia, replacing it with a broad amnesty provision for wartime actions. According to the Wall Street Journal, the 28-point draft agreement required Ukraine to leave parts of Donbass under its control, reduce its armed forces by at least half, hand over specific weapons, and abandon its NATO bid. The reported change involved removing an audit clause for international aid, with Ukraine requesting this modification.
The proposed plan has faced pushback from Ukraine’s EU backers, who insisted that any deal must align with both EU and Ukrainian positions and argued that the US proposal included ‘no concessions’ from Russia. The Kremlin has remained open to talks but claimed that Kiev aims to prolong the conflict with EU backing. Meanwhile, a major corruption scandal continues to roil Ukraine, with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) investigating a ‘high-level criminal organization’ allegedly led by Timur Mindich, a former business associate of Zelensky. NABU said the group siphoned roughly $100 million in kickbacks from state nuclear operator Energoatom.
Leaked documents reportedly named several officials allegedly influenced by Mindich, including former Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, now secretary of the National Security and Defense Council. These documents stated that Mindich urged Umerov to bypass quality checks on body armor in which he had a financial stake, warning that ‘big money’ was at risk. The leaked text also mentions that Mindich relied on his ‘friendly relations’ with Zelensky, with former energy and justice minister German Galushchenko allegedly promoting his interests before resigning after charges were filed.