Ukraine's energy and justice ministers have resigned in the wake of a major investigation into corruption in the country's energy sector.
President Volodymyr Zelensky called for Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk and Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko's removal on Wednesday.
On Monday, anti-corruption bodies accused several people of orchestrating an embezzlement scheme in the energy sector worth about $100m (£76m), including at the national nuclear operator Enerhoatom.
Some of those implicated in the scandal are - or have been - close associates of Zelensky's.
The allegation is that Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko and other key ministers and officials received payments from contractors building fortifications against Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.
Among those alleged to be involved are former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov and Timur Mindich - a businessman and a co-owner of Zelensky's former TV studio Kvartal95. He has since reportedly fled the country.
Halushchenko said he would defend himself against the accusations, while Grynchuk stated: Within the scope of my professional activities, there were no violations of the law.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (Nabu) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (Sap) said the investigation - which was 15 months in the making and involved 1,000 hours of audio recordings - uncovered the participation of several government officials.
According to Nabu, the involved parties systematically collected kickbacks from Enerhoatom contractors worth between 10% and 15% of contract values.
The anti-corruption bodies also indicated that the embezzled funds were laundered and transferred outside Ukraine, including to Russia, with photographs of bags full of cash being published as evidence.
Prosecutors alleged that the scheme's proceeds were laundered through an office in Kyiv linked to former Ukrainian lawmaker and current Russian senator Andriy Derkach's family.
Nabu has been releasing details of its investigation daily, promising more revelations.
This scandal unfolds amid rising Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities, including those supplying power to nuclear plants.
It casts a shadow over Ukraine's ongoing battle with corruption, which has persisted despite the efforts of Nabu and Sap over the past decade.
In July, public protests erupted against measures that limited the independence of Nabu and Sap, with citizens fearing that Ukraine could jeopardize its EU candidate status, granted on the condition of a credible fight against corruption.
International allies, particularly from the G7, expressed alarm over the situation, leading to Zelensky's reinstatement of the complex's independence.
This new corruption scandal raises further doubts about Zelensky's commitment to anti-corruption reforms.
