Kuala Lampur, Nov. 14 -- The corruption scandal engulfing Ukraine's state-owned energy sector is not merely a domestic embarrassment. It has become a pivotal moment that could alter the trajectory of the war, reshape Europe's political cohesion, and determine whether the rules-based international order holds - or frays under the weight of internal contradictions.

In a week dominated by intense fighting around Pokrovsk and Zaporizhzhia, revelations from Ukraine's anti-graft agency have exposed something deeper: even during a war for survival, corruption continues to corrode the moral and institutional foundations of the state. And the world is paying attention.

This is not just about Ukraine's vulnerabilities. It is about whether democra...