Ukraine: anti-corruption probe rocks Zelensky

Zelensky’s former chief of staff is reported to have stated that Klymenko – apparently referring to the chief anti-corruption prosecutor, Oleksandr Klymenko – should be replaced by someone loyal to the President’s Office.

“If he were re-elected for a second term, for another seven years, we’d all be in a right mess”, Mudra is reported to have said.

At this point, it is impossible not to recall when Zelensky suggested curbing Nabu (and its sister organisation) Sapo in order to ‘clean them up’ of what he described as ‘Russian influence’. He subsequently backtracked, however, due to street protests and pressure from the EU.

On the domestic political front, according to the former Ukrainian defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov Kyiv must find a way to hold elections during wartime. In a speech broadcast on YouTube, he stated that ‘democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia’ and that ‘it is necessary to find a legal, secure and realistic mechanism that allows Ukraine to restore a fully-fledged democratic process even in the event of a prolonged war’. The former minister went on to add: “We are fighting precisely because we want to remain a free European state. Therefore, we must find a legal, secure and realistic mechanism that will enable Ukraine to restore a fully-fledged democratic process even in the event of a prolonged war”.

The speech comes after a period of political crisis triggered by President Zelensky’s decision to dismiss him from his post as Defence Minister. This decision sparked a wave of protests in support of Fedorov, who is popular with the public and the military, who credit him with modernising the army in an effort to save soldiers’ lives. In an attempt to remedy the situation, Zelensky offered Fedorov other government posts, which the former minister, however, turned down. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Parliament is expected to vote tomorrow to confirm Yevhenii Khmara as the new Defence Minister, a post he currently holds on an interim basis.

Activists gathered in Mariinsky Park in Kyiv to demand Fedorov’s reinstatement to the ministry reacted negatively to the news of Khmara’s appointment. This was reported by Ukrinform, which explained that the protesters began shouting ‘shame’ following the news, calling on the public to gather today at 7 pm in Ivan Franko Square with the intention of repeating the demonstrations every day at that time. The activists made it clear that they have “great respect” for Khmara but – in their view – the post of Defence Minister “should belong to someone else”.

Fedorov is reportedly considering travelling to the United States, and the trip could take place as early as next week (according to a source cited by the Kyiv Independent). It is not yet clear who Fedorov intends to meet in the US. However, the newspaper notes that the former minister has always been on good terms with Elon Musk, thanks to the Starlink project.

The call for new elections is supported by ‘all’ members of the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian Parliament, which ‘certainly desires the sense of normality that elections represent’, MP Sviatoslav Yurash, a member of President Zelensky’s “Servant of the People” party, told Adnkronos in an interview with Adnkronos. However, the MP continued, “we are far from having answers” to all the questions arising regarding the organisation of secure, transparent and effective elections in wartime. ‘In Parliament, we have a committee tasked with planning and determining what legislative changes we need to make to try to make this possible, despite the ever-increasing threat from Russia,’ explains Yurash, noting that the Russians ‘bombard almost every night’ not only Kyiv, but towns and cities across the country. A sub-committee within that committee is working to “prepare both the infrastructure and the legislation needed to conduct the elections in a safer and more lawful manner”, and this body “has been working and will continue to work to try to pave the way for the elections despite the war”, he says.

Against this backdrop, Fedorov’s call for new elections has also been interpreted as an implicit criticism of the Zelensky government. “I hope that the calls from him and many others will speed up this process,” said the MP, emphasising that Ukrainians form “a democratic nation” and they have ‘repeatedly’ changed governments, leaders and MPs. ‘And this is precisely the essence of our nation’s vision for the future: that our people may transform themselves, may change their leadership, especially if it disappoints them. But at this very moment we are fighting for our very existence. That is why this issue must be approached with caution. And Parliament is not shirking this responsibility.”

According to Yurash, the protests against the government – including the most recent ones that erupted following the dismissal of former Defence Minister Fedorov – are ‘closely linked’ to the nation’s overriding interest, namely ensuring the best possible defence against Russian aggression. As part of the same momentum, he notes, citizens are united by their ‘rejection of the age-old evil of corruption’. ‘People are united by a very simple understanding: their nation should not be part of Russia’s imperial plans, the implementation of which means death, destruction, pain, suffering and loss for all of us. So that unity will not fade away. And if you ask the protesters in Kyiv, they would certainly like to see more done on this or that issue, but they are united by the desire not to be at the mercy of the Russians,’ he emphasises.

The MP then draws attention to the young age of the majority of the protesters and the vigour with which they are expressing their views on social media. These views “are closely linked to the fact that they want the war to be waged more effectively, and for the internal enemy to be tackled more rigorously. And, once again, we could not agree more. That is why, once again, Parliament has provided the funding, powers and tools for the institutions that are working to combat the corruption which, once again, Ukrainians are taking to the streets to protest against. And they also took to the streets during the Euromaidan revolution’, he adds, having been a leading figure in the pro-EU protests that in 2014 led to the fall of the pro-Russian government of Viktor Yanukovych .

Meanwhile, the war on the ground continues. Four people have been killed and a further four injured this morning in a Russian drone attack on a minibus in the Korabelny district of Kherson. This was reported by Ukrainska Pravda, citing the head of the Kherson regional administration, Oleksandr Prokudin. A further two people were killed and ten others were injured in drone attacks by Russian forces on Zaporizhzhia and its district. This was also reported by Ukrainska Pravda, which quotes the head of the regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov, who stated that Russian troops carried out 19 air raids against settlements in the region.

Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russian territory are also continuing. The mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, quoted by Interfax, announced that the Russian air defence system had shot down 25 drones heading towards the capital. Ukrainian drones also targeted the Russian regions of Tula and Nizhny Novgorod overnight, according to the Kyiv Independent, which cites the monitoring channel Exilenova Plus on Telegram. Witnesses reported explosions in Novomoskovsk, in the Tula region, whilst drones were reportedly shot down near a residential building in the town of Dzerzhinsk, in the Nizhny Novgorod region. The governor of the Tula region, Dmitry Milyaev, confirmed an attack by Ukrainian drones, stating that Russian air defences had intercepted 27 of them. “According to preliminary information, no damage to buildings or infrastructure has been reported,” he said.

Vladimir Putin admits that Ukrainian drone attacks on refineries and other Russian infrastructure are causing ‘damage’ to the country’s economy. The Russian president spoke in Moscow at a meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects. “Statistical data indicate that the trend in the economy, whilst modest overall, remains positive – he stated – ‘it is clear that the pace of economic activity is affected by a number of factors, including external pressures and terrorist attacks on industrial facilities and infrastructure’.” He added: ‘Naturally, these attacks have not had, nor could they have had, critical consequences. However, they do cause us damage: this is evident, and we are fully aware of it.’

A new exchange of prisoners of war between Ukraine and Russia was also announced today, involving 103 people from each side. The announcement was made by the Russian Ministry of Defence. “One hundred and three Russian servicemen have been repatriated. In exchange, 103 prisoners of war from the Ukrainian armed forces were handed over,” the ministry stated in a press release. The Russian servicemen are currently in Belarus to receive “medical and psychological” assistance, according to Moscow. They will subsequently be transferred to Russia. The Russian Ministry emphasised that the United Arab Emirates, as in previous exchanges, played “a mediating role” in the repatriation. Ukraine has not yet issued any comments. Prisoner exchanges are one of the last remaining areas of cooperation between Russia and Ukraine and represent the only tangible outcome of the negotiations between the two countries. According to Kyiv, more than 15,000 Ukrainian civilians are being held in Russian prisons. In February, Zelensky also stated that around 7,000 Ukrainian servicemen were still being held captive. Since last winter, several new prisoner exchanges have taken place, each involving several hundred people from both sides.

The United Nations has condemned the recent decision by the Russian Supreme Court to continue to bar the country’s only pacifist party from taking part in the forthcoming elections, as well as the lengthy prison sentence handed down to a party leader. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, stated on social media that it was “alarmed by the exclusion of Yabloko, one of Russia’s oldest political parties, from the parliamentary elections in September, and by the sentencing of its deputy leader, Lev Shlosberg, to over 11 years in prison for anti-war speeches’ in Ukraine.