AMNA NAWAZ: A sprawling energy sector# corruption scandal is rocking Ukraine.## Last Friday, the country was shocked by the exit# of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief of staff,## Andriy Yermak, also Ukraine's second# most powerful man.

He resigned after## the state anti-corruption body raided his home.

As special correspondent Jack Hewson# explains, it's a crisis striking at## the heart of government as the country fights# for survival against Russia's brutal invasion.

JACK HEWSON: As Ukraine's government# scrambles to contain a corruption scandal,## Kyiv residents are left to sweep up the# shards of another night of Russian attacks.

This block in Kyiv's outer suburbs was# shredded by an Iranian-designed Shahed drone,## windows punched out, cars upturned.# Amid the wreckage, we meet Pavlo,## displaced from Donetsk, already# grieving his son killed just months ago.

PAVLO BUDAREV, Kyiv Resident (through translator):# My son was volunteering.

The Russians hit him with## a drone right in his car.

He was delivering# food in Kramatorsk, 4.5 kilometers from home.

JACK HEWSON: Pavlo fled the# east for the safety of Kyiv,## but Russia's drones have followed him here.

He# tells us how he stood awake in his living room## listening as they came.

Eyewitness# footage shows the moment of impact.

PAVLO BUDAREV (through translator):## I heard the sound of a Shahed getting# louder.

It came from over there,## then an explosion.

A car flew into the air.

I was# thrown backwards onto the sofa in my living room.

JACK HEWSON: It seems like these that the# residents of Kyiv are increasingly waking up## to as Russian missiles and drones hit their# cities nearly every night.

Tonight's been a## particularly heavy one.

It's been 10 hours and 31# minutes of alarm over the course of this evening.## I was staying in Central Kyiv, woken up pretty# much every 20 minutes by booms in the distance.

And I'm just a visitor.

If you have got# to live with this night after night,## it grinds you down, and that's exactly# what the Russians are seeking to achieve.

The Shahed that hit this courtyard is the# same as those hitting power stations taking## out electricity to millions.

And Russia's# onslaught is being exacerbated by corruption.## The scandal centers around Timur Mindich,# Zelenskyy's former media business partner,## and a number of Cabinet members, including# former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov.

The group were accused by investigators# of embezzling public money that should## have been spent on repairing# Ukraine's energy grid.

Then,## on Friday, Zelenskyy's chief of staff,# Andriy Yermak, was raided.

It's not## confirmed if it was in connection with the# energy scandal, but he has since resigned.

All involved are close to Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy# came to office six years ago on a wave of popular## revulsion against corruption.

For decades,# Ukraine has been synonymous with the word,## and Zelenskyy's promise of a new leader# untethered to the system led to a landslide.

Now that bubble has burst bitterly.# Anti-corruption activist Daria Kaleniuk## says public suspicions of the president's# office have increased since the summer,## when Zelenskyy's government tried to# neuter the anti-corruption agencies.## Protests then erupted, forcing# Zelenskyy into an immediate U-turn.

DARIA KALENIUK, Anti-Corruption Action Center:# This is the closest square to the office of## president, so you can see here, I guess, 10,000# people were here during the summer rallies.

JACK HEWSON: Since then, investigators# have exposed a $100 million kickback## scheme within Ukraine state nuclear energy# Energoatom.

The scheme allegedly forced## contractors to pay 10 to 15 percent# kickbacks, delaying repair works.

DARIA KALENIUK: They have delayed the# construction in order to have larger## kickbacks.

They don't care about this# country.They just care about easy money,## self-enrichment.

People of Ukraine are outraged.

JACK HEWSON: As a direct result of# corruption, millions of Ukrainians## face longer, colder blackout conditions.# Up 22 stories, and with no electricity,## meaning no elevator, lives Anna Svyatoslav# with her son.

They face daily outages.

ANNA SVYATOSLAV, Kyiv# Resident (through translator):## Everything depends on electricity,# water, food that cannot be heated,## warmed up or cooked.

We can't even wash our# hands or take care of other needs, toilet,## bathroom and so on.

There is absolutely no# water for that either.

And there is no heating.

JACK HEWSON: In one instance in 2022, Anna# says they went three days without electricity.## She blames Russia first for# bombing them, but the news of## the scandal aggravating their suffering# has angered her, like millions of others.

ANNA SVYATOSLAV (through translator):# When you are thinking about how to keep## your child warm and just normal, so# that your child has decent conditions,## and then you hear what they say is going on in# government, they used to chop off hands for that.

JACK HEWSON: While the Ukrainian people# shiver in the dark, political pressure is## growing on the presidency.

Under Zelenskyy,# power has been consolidated around the## president's office and his erstwhile chief# of staff.

The public outcry and the ouster## of Yermak means opposition M.P.s like Oleksiy# Goncharenko want decentralization and reform.

And suspicions are growing# about Zelenskyy's involvement.

Do you think Zelenskyy was in full# knowledge of what was going on?

OLEKSIY GONCHARENKO, Ukrainian Parliament# Member: I hope not.

But I don't know.

But## it's something which investigation# should answer.

But he was definitely,## absolutely aware of what the system Yermak# was building.

Because he was building it## under his orders.

Orders were coming from# Zelenskyy.

I am absolutely sure about this.

So don't be fooled that it was# like Zelenskyy who he didn't know,## who was so busy abroad and so on.

It's not true.

JACK HEWSON: But damage to Zelenskyy is# also damaged to Ukraine's position on## the international stage.

It allows Putin# to delegitimize Ukraine as corrupt and## frustrates Ukraine's Western allies that wanted# an anti-corruption drive as a condition of aid.

Speaking last month, Zelenskyy# called for unity and calm.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, Ukrainian President# (through translator): Everyone,## we need to get together, come to.. JACK HEWSON: There is an unspoken pact# between the Ukrainian people and their## president to temper their criticism in a time# of darkness and war.

But with the people's## suffering now being compounded by their# own politicians, patience is running thin.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm# Jack Hewson in Kyiv, Ukraine.