It has been a rocky week for Ukraine's energy sector.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian energy minister Svitlana Hrynchuk and former energy minister German Galushchenko, resigned amid an anti-corruption investigation into the sector.
Their departure came two days after Ukrainian state anti-corruption agencies began releasing findings from a 15-month investigation into alleged corrupt payments involving Energoatom, Ukraine's state nuclear energy company.
One of the investigating agencies, Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), estimated that about $100m had been laundered as part of the scheme.
Both Ms Hrynchuk and Mr Galushchenko, who was the serving justice minister, have denied any wrongdoing.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had called for the resignation of the two ministers during his daily video address on Wednesday.
In a clip from the same video, posted on X, Mr Zelensky said: "There must be maximum integrity in the energy sector, in absolutely all processes".
Then, on Thursday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyydenko announced that her government would conduct an audit of all public companies, including those in the energy sector.
In its findings, NABU alleged that Energoatom's contractors were forced to pay kickbacks to avoid having payments for their services being blocked or losing their supplier status.
Those payments, according to a statement on NABU's website, amounted to 10% to 15% of the value of contracts.
The investigation involves a former adviser to Ukraine's energy minister, a senior director at Energoatom and four other individuals.
More than 70 searches were conducted in Kyiv, and other regions and large amounts of cash were seized.
The fact that Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies launched the probe in the first place, and went public with the findings is a positive development.
It shows that Ukraine's government is trying to forge a culture of transparency in line with EU norms.
But the scandal is damaging for the energy sector and international investors in the country's reconstruction projects will want reassurance that graft will be stamped out by state bodies.
The investigation's findings come at a time when Ukraine's energy infrastructure is being hammered almost every night by Russian drone and missile strikes.
Since last March, Russia has launched more than 4,000 strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure according to Ukraine's energy ministry.
About 6.3m Ukrainians endure power outages for 8 to 16 hours each day.
The news of the probe's findings also comes as Ukrainians at home head into the fourth winter of the war.
During the winter months, the country's electricity grid struggles to deliver 50% capacity at times of peak demand and needs to import more than 4 billion cubic meters of electricity.
Ms Hrynchuk, the former energy minister, had been due to speak at a Rebuild Ukraine conference in Warsaw on Thursday, an annual event focused on attracting investment for construction and energy projects in Ukraine.
But her resignation meant that Ukrainian deputy energy minister Roman Andarak spoke instead, and he ploughed on with his pitch for more international investment in the sector.
"We will need additional support to restore power and make the system more resilient," said Mr Andarak.
"Every euro, every piece of technology brings Ukraine closer to recovery and to the European economy," he said.
This was the fifth edition of Rebuild Ukraine in the Polish capital since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, and organisers said it was the largest so far.
What began as a small event involving about 30 companies in 2022 has grown into a massive two-day expo attended by more than 760 international companies, 6,000 delegates, government ministers from Ukraine and across the EU, representatives from 160 Ukrainian communities, and the heads of big energy and construction firms.
Speaking to RTÉ News and other reporters after the conference's opening session, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos commended Ukraine's recent anti-corruption investigation in the energy sector.
"This recent investigation in Ukraine has shown that independent anti-corruption bodies are functioning," said Ms Kos.
"It has also shown the importance that these anti-corruption institutions are working independently. And, in this sense, the initial reaction from the highest political level in Ukraine is really encouraging, and now it is up to the judiciary system and the courts to rule if and where the laws have been broken".
Ukraine's government, said Ms Kos, was "changing the political culture in the country".
Among the signed agreements at the conference was a deal between the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Ukrainian state-owned energy company Naftogaz of Ukraine, backed by guarantees under the Ukraine Investment Framework (UIF).
Under this agreement, Norway will provide a €127 million grant through the UIF to bolster Ukraine's energy security.
The EIB also announced more than €200m in new EU grant financing to help restore Ukraine's water services for communities across the country.
Inside the conference's main halls, there was little sign that the corruption scandal had dented interest in investing in Ukraine's recovery.
Stands operated by construction, engineering and energy companies teemed with activity.
Representatives from 18 Ukrainian regions ran stands, seeking investments for construction and reconstruction projects in their localities.
But your reporter noted that there were fewer communities from eastern Ukraine with stands at this year's event compared to previous editions.
A cluster of communities from central and western Ukraine were dominant. Quite simply, many investors view regions located farther from the frontline as lower risk.
Yurii Marchak, a public representative from Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, said construction and planning management firms had approached their stall.
"When it comes to direct investment, there were fewer companies that can provide assistance," he said.
Oleh Veklyn, deputy head of Lviv region's Investment Office said his office was trying to promote Lviv as a "a new economical centre of Ukraine".
"It's a starting point for foreign companies wanting to enter Ukraine," he said.
But even for a region located in western Ukraine, Mr Veklyn said there were not many investors "ready to enter".
"It's hard work to find a common point between communities and the existing companies that are here. But it's possible".
One international company that is already investing in the Lviv region is Irish-headquartered Kingspan.
The building materials group is embarking on the construction of a low-carbon campus about 20km outside of Lviv, to the tune of €280m.
It is expected that manufacturing facilities will be operational by the end of 2027 and will employ more than 700 people.
The campus will produce insulation and energy-efficient building material products, to be used in logistics centres and warehouses. Materials will be sourced in Ukraine and elsewhere in eastern Europe.
Mike Stenson, Executive Project Director of Kingspan Group's Ukraine Campus, said the company had made the decision to build a new campus in the Lviv region "as part of an overall capacity expansion in eastern Europe".
"There will be a significant demand for materials across Ukraine post-war," said Mr Stenson at the conference in Warsaw.
"From a planning and permitting perspective, the focus on digitalisation and being transparent sets the tone for the future".
In total, eight Irish companies were represented at the Enterprise Ireland stand at the expo, spanning construction, healthcare and digital sectors.
Going by attendance levels at the Warsaw event, interest among construction and energy companies towards working in Ukraine remains strong, even as the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion approaches.
Yesterday, Ukraine's Prime Minister Yulia Svyydenko told Politico that clearing out corruption in public institutions is "a matter of dignity for our government".
Ukraine's government will have to follow through on that promise to secure the confidence of companies and investors who are thinking of working in the country.
