The protection of Ukraine's infrastructure has been delayed due to unpaid bribes to officials, according to the Times.

Approximately 80% of Ukraine's energy infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed. Without adequate protection and with temperatures dropping below zero, Ukraine is facing severe challenges. This is reported by Times.

This week saw the most extensive airstrikes by Russia on energy infrastructure in recent months of the war, leading to forced power outages.

Mustafa Nayem, the head of the agency responsible for critical infrastructure protection, resigned in June in protest against government policies, stating that the project was intentionally delayed due to Kyiv's refusal to allocate funds earmarked for its implementation.

According to him, it was impossible to work under such conditions.

"When you see that the government leadership is creating artificial obstacles for you, it's pointless," Nayem said. His agency requested €1.4 billion for the supply of bunkers, referred to as "third level protection," for substations. Nayem claimed that the blockage of funding was driven by selfish interests.

"When people in government see these billions, they can't even imagine that there is no interest for the people transferring this money," he stated.

His team suspects that the project was delayed because bribes to officials in the Cabinet were not paid. He mentioned that the government did not pay contractors, which halted all projects.

Nayem's successor, Sergey Sukhomlin, noted that contractors were expecting "too high profits," and his agency was reviewing their contracts. Some of the protective structures were "redesigned" to cut costs, he added.

Currently, to prevent the collapse of its energy system, Ukraine relies on "first and second level" protection using gabions—simple cages filled with stones provided by the United Kingdom—as well as a range of modern air defense systems.

If Donald Trump cuts aid to Ukraine when he takes office as President of the United States in January, Kyiv will have fewer air defense missiles, and more Russian missiles will breach the air defense network.

In September, following summer power outages, the administration of Volodymyr Zelensky organized the dismissal of Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the CEO of the state energy company. This indicated that he had failed to provide adequate levels of protection.

Critics argue that such a move, along with cabinet reshuffles, merely allows the leadership of the President's Office, Andriy Yermak and his aides, to concentrate more power in their hands, journalists note.

According to insider information, one of these aides, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, is assigned the role of informal curator of state construction projects.

An unnamed former official who closely worked with the President's Office claimed that Tymoshenko demanded a 10% kickback from companies for selecting their projects. According to the former official, Tymoshenko kept large sums of "dirty" money and distributed it to unofficial advisors in the President's Office. The official stated that Tymoshenko collected payments of $10,000 from companies that wanted the president to visit them during official trips to the regions.

A representative for Tymoshenko denied the allegations, stating that "Kyrylo Tymoshenko is not involved in any decision-making regarding the construction of infrastructure facilities and has no relation to the financing or management processes of these projects."

"Regarding the allegations of wrongdoing, only through an official investigation can objectivity be ensured and the truth transparently established," the response read.

It is worth noting that in June 2024, searches were conducted at the residence of ex-deputy head of the President's Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko.