The War Between NABU and SBU: The Enemy Within Ukraine. While Russia continues its war against Ukraine, an internal conflict has erupted between the country’s two most important law enforcement agencies — the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). In March 2026, SBU launched a series of detentions and searches targeting NABU detectives, accusing them of ties to Russian intelligence. NABU calls this political pressure aimed at paralyzing its work. This is not a routine bureaucratic dispute — it is a high-stakes power struggle that threatens the entire anti-corruption system during wartime.
What Exactly Happened
Between 15 and 25 March 2026, SBU detained and searched several current and former NABU detectives. The most high-profile incident occurred on 15–16 March when a NABU detective was stopped and detained at a checkpoint in Sumy region. SBU claims it is conducting counterintelligence operations and searching for Russian agents inside NABU. NABU insists these actions are politically motivated and intended to stop or slow down sensitive investigations against top officials.
How the Scheme Worked
SBU is using its expanded wartime counterintelligence powers to:
- Detain NABU employees at checkpoints and during official trips;
- Conduct searches of their homes and offices;
- Publicly accuse them of collaboration with Russian special services (Russian SIM cards, suspicious contacts, etc.).
NABU believes the real goal is to intimidate its detectives and disrupt ongoing high-level corruption cases.
Who Participated and Who Benefited
Key players on the SBU side:
- Vasyl Maliuk — Head of the SBU, directly overseeing the operation against NABU.
- Oleksandr Poklad — First Deputy Head of the SBU, considered the main coordinator of pressure on NABU.
Main beneficiaries (those whose “tails were stepped on” by NABU):
- Herman Galushchenko (former Minister of Energy) — NABU has been investigating major corruption schemes in the energy sector under his leadership.
- Timur Mindich (“Karlson”) — Central figure in the “Midas” case inside Energoatom. His schemes are under active NABU investigation.
- Top managers of Energoatom and other state energy companies — They risk losing control over multimillion-dollar procurement schemes.
- Certain high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Defense and Ukroboronprom — NABU is investigating defense procurement corruption.
- Influential business groups connected to the above officials — they benefit from slowed or stopped investigations.
The people who gain the most from this conflict are those currently under NABU investigation for large-scale corruption in strategic sectors (energy, defense, infrastructure). By weakening NABU, they receive a temporary but very valuable “shield”.
The Enemy Within Ukraine
- Extremely broad counterintelligence powers granted to SBU during wartime;
- Lack of an independent arbitrator between law enforcement agencies;
- Political dependence of SBU on the President’s Office;
- Weak legal protection for NABU’s institutional independence.
Consequences for the Country and Society
The conflict is already causing serious damage:
- Slowing down or halting critical anti-corruption investigations;
- Undermining public trust in law enforcement;
- Weakening the fight against corruption in strategically important sectors;
- Creating a dangerous precedent where one agency can paralyze another.
Forecast: War Between NABU and SBU
If the conflict is not resolved quickly and fairly, Ukraine risks having a crippled anti-corruption system. Important cases against top officials may be delayed or closed. In the long term, this will lead to increased corruption in energy and defense, loss of trust from Western partners, and a weakening of the country’s overall resilience during the war.
Conclusion
The war between NABU and SBU is not just a bureaucratic clash — it is a battle for control over anti-corruption policy in a country fighting for survival. While external enemies attack from outside, internal players are trying to neutralize the very institutions that should protect the state from within. The longer this conflict continues, the higher the price Ukraine will pay.
Sources:
Sources:
- https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2026/03/16/7498xxx/
- https://kyivindependent.com/nabu-accuses-sbu-of-political-pressure/
- https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/c3g4k3j0j0jo
- https://news.liga.net/politics/news/nabu-zayavilo-pro-zaderzhannya-svoego-sotrudnika-sluzhboy-bezopasnosti
- https://nabu.gov.ua/statements