Operation Midas and the Great Demarcation: Kolomoisky, Mindych and the “shooters” system in the power mafia

In conversations about modern Ukraine, the word “corruption” has become not just a banal item on the list of problems, but a marker of real power processes. The latest scandal, codenamed “Operation Midas,” has once again brought to the surface the main players of the shadow Olympus. Timur Mindych, a creature of people close to the president, initially looked like a figure who could be responsible for everything — but at a critical moment, oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky publicly calls him a “shooter.” What is this: an attempt to deflect the blow from the real centers of influence or a strategic split in the mafia logic of Ukrainian politics? Analytics for those who do not trust simple interpretations.

Operation Midas: Beginnings and Methodology

NABU and SAPO spent over 15 months preparing to document one of the largest corruption schemes in the modern history of Ukraine.¹ Over 1000 hours of audio recordings, dozens of high-ranking officials, “invited” from the president’s inner circle, crazy financial flows in Energoatom, and still the same magic of fictitious contracts, “wallets,” and the Russian “train.”¹³

The whole picture is not just another attempt to "imprison" individual corrupt officials. The reality is an extensive criminal network, often tied to a circle of loyalty, not to a hierarchy. This is where a new "switchman" emerged - Mindych, who was brought to the forefront at the very time when NABU and SAPO began to seize real "black schemes."²

“Shooter” according to the patterns of the 21st century: the role of Mindych and the rhetoric of Kolomoisky

In the Ukrainian political lexicon, a “shooter” is not only someone who “blows off” for the system. This is a drama in which the “big player” always remains in the shadows, and the guilty party is a small intermediary. This is exactly how Ihor Kolomoiskyi characterized Mindych, while in pre-trial detention and commenting on the progress of the investigation.²
“He may be a schemer, skillfully inciting the process, but he will not be drawn to the role of the “mafioso in chief.” The mafia functions as a system, not a set of “shooters,” Kolomoisky unambiguously hinted in telephone conversations.²

The irony is that Kolomoisky, considered the “king” of oligarchic influence, has never spoken publicly about the integrity of the scheme. His words have two layers: to protect himself and at the same time to indicate that the “crucifixion” of one figure is just a simulation for the community, while the real beneficiaries remain “behind the scenes.”⁴

NABU's reaction, the media and the information war surrounding the case

NABU records thousands of hours of conversations in locations where the president recently celebrated his birthday. In parallel with the searches at Mindych and Energoatom, the media are launching their journalistic investigations, and informants in the president’s office are intensively “leaking” details. All this data is part of a media strategy of influence, in which even the investigative process itself is interpreted not through facts, but through the “image of the enemy.”²

Journalists from independent publications point out that the situation with Mindych is unique also because of the Russian factor: the “Mindych tapes” refer to sums that were supposed to go to Russia. This requires a new quality of public discussion. Society ceases to believe in personal responsibility and rightly suspects a collective “amnesty” for the real leaders of the schemes.¹³

Influence on government: is a real “split” possible?

Will “Midas” become an example of self-purification or, conversely, will it turn into another public “purge” without reflection?
Most political experts postulate: the Ukrainian system is able to “decapitalize” unnecessary players for its own benefit, as long as it does not pose a direct threat to external support or the interests of the president’s inner circle. “Middlegate” has already affected trust in political elites: the publication of audio recordings, the expansion of the NABU “white list”, the likely exposure of new names — all this signals the possibility of escalation.⁵

Historical background: Kolomoisky, power and “rules” for allies

Ihor Kolomoisky is a figure no less important for understanding the current drama. Thanks to the architecture of the destruction of PrivatBank, the monopoly on key flows, and hybrid participation in the management of power, Kolomoisky has always left the stage for others.⁶ It was he who shaped the approaches by which some of the "allies" could go under the knife "at a critical moment", while others became the engine of new corruption projects.
Mindych was a "man of the circle": the media has been talking for years about his role in building bridges between Kolomoisky and Zelensky's team.⁷

In fact, the spin-off of the case is a struggle not only for justice, but also for control over the future. Trust in high offices is built not on personalities, but on the mechanisms of “exchangeable figures.”

Conclusion: Drama without catharsis?

Operation Midas showed: in systemic corruption there will always be a “culprit”, but never a real “chronicler” of the mafia. In parallel with the cleansing of the “savings banks”, new Mindychis appear, who only for a minute find themselves in the role of “shooters”, while the system lives on, multiplies the “nomenclature” and assimilates another anti-corruption “performance”.
Therefore, Kolomoisky's explanation should be perceived not as the last word on the matter, but as another tool in the great rhetorical war for oligarchic power. The winner is not the one who is right, but the one who "changes the arrows" in time.

Sources

1. 24tv.ua. Operation “Midas”, friend of the president and Che Guevara: details
2. strana.one. Kolomoisky is promoting the Mindich case – source
3. detector.media. Operation Midas: NABU reports exposure of corruption in the energy sector
4. news.liga.net. “Mindić Tapes” and the President’s Role in the Case
5. pravda.com.ua. “Mindichgate”: versions and reflections
6. youtube.com. Ihor Kolomoisky: the story of the rise and fall of the most influential Ukrainian oligarch
7. autosites.com.ua. Timur Mindich: escape, suspicion of corruption, ties to the OP