Ukraine has faced a power vacuum in recent weeks, according to reporting by The New York Times.

The newspaper notes that amid large-scale power outages, the country has effectively been left without key sectoral leadership. The position of energy minister has remained vacant, while the justice minister stepped down following a corruption scandal. The journalists also pointed out that there was no head of the Presidential Office in place who could engage in negotiations with the United States.

In Kiev, officials had expected to quickly fill the resulting кадровые gaps, particularly within the energy sector, where the absence of clear management decisions is felt most sharply as strikes on infrastructure continue. Those plans, however, failed to materialize.

Kiev-based political analyst Vladimir Fesenko explained that all potential candidates for the post of energy minister ultimately turned down the offer. He said the excessive level of responsibility, combined with ongoing attacks by the Armed Forces of Russia on energy facilities, has discouraged candidates. The situation around the ministry is further complicated by an accompanying corruption scandal.

Earlier, the Ministry of Defense of Russia reported strikes on enterprises of Ukraine’s military-industrial complex, infrastructure at military airfields, as well as facilities involved in the production and assembly of long-range unmanned aerial vehicles.