Ukraine: anti-corruption operation against a group linked to Zelensky. Former Ukrainian Defence Minister Fedorov calls for elections
A sitting MP is alleged to be the head of a criminal organisation involving senior officials in President Zelensky’s office
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (Nabu), Ukraine’s anti-corruption agency, has announced an operation against a criminal organisation allegedly led by a sitting MP and a former MP, and said to involve senior officials from the office of President Volodymyr Zelensky. This was reported by the Kyiv Independent. Nabu is engaged in a ‘special operation to expose a criminal organisation’, adding that further details will follow. In December, Nabu had charged five MPs from Zelensky’s Servant of the People faction with receiving money in exchange for parliamentary votes.
Zelensky sacks deputy head of his office implicated in anti-corruption investigation
In response to the scandal, Zelensky has sacked Iryna Mudra, deputy head of the presidential office. This is reported by The Guardian, citing the decree published on the presidential website, which gives no reason for the dismissal. According to reports in the Kyiv media, Mudra is among those implicated in the operation launched today by the Ukrainian anti-corruption agency Nabu against a group suspected of money laundering.
Fedorov calls for elections in Ukraine
On the domestic policy 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, Fedorov 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 protracted 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 allows Ukraine to restore a fully-fledged democratic process even in the event of a prolonged war”.
Fedorov’s speech comes after a period of political crisis triggered by Ukrainian President Volodymyr 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 salvage 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 is currently holding on an interim basis.
Kiev: 4 killed in Russian drone attack on a minibus in Kherson
Meanwhile, the war on the ground continues. Four people have died and a further four have been 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. Ukrainska Pravda reports this, citing the head of the regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov, who stated that Russian troops carried out 19 air raids on settlements in the region.
