Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies announced Wednesday that they are investigating senior officials in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office, a day after the country’s recently fired defense minister called for national elections despite the ongoing fight against Russia’s invasion.
asserted
minister → announce → invasion
The political drama was an unwelcome distraction for Zelenskyy as Ukraine’s war with its bigger neighbor extends into its fifth year.
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war → extend → year
Investigators are conducting an operation to expose a criminal organization allegedly led by a sitting and a former lawmaker, involving senior officials from the presidential office and other individuals, according to a joint statement from Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.
uncertain
Investigators → conduct → Bureau
Further details would be released later, the agencies said in a joint statement.
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agencies → release → statement
The revelation brought another test of Zelenskyy’s political resilience.
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revelation → bring → resilience
Last year, his chief of staff Andriy Yermak resigned and was later named as a suspect in a major graft probe in the biggest threat to Zelenskyy’s government since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
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chief → resign → February
Zelenskyy is already under pressure over his firing last month of defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov, one of the longest-standing members of his team and a close ally since he helped Zelenskyy win the 2019 presidential election.
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Zelenskyy → stand → election
Zelenskyy, seeking to reconcile tensions between the defense ministry's young and tech-savvy innovators and Ukraine's seasoned, Soviet-trained battlefield leaders, risked angering both sides by reshuffling his wartime leadership.
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Zelenskyy → seek → leadership
He ousted both Fedorov, whose changes to military procurement aimed to stamp out corruption, and commander-in-chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi.
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changes → oust → chief
The move sparked days of street protests in support of Fedorov.
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move → spark → Fedorov
For Zelenskyy, it was the second time in a year that a wartime decision triggered a strong public backlash, after he moved in mid-2025 to curb the powers of anti-corruption agencies.
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he → trigger → agencies
Fedorov, in a video address posted to YouTube late Tuesday, called for elections to be held in Ukraine in a bombshell statement that appeared to directly confront Zelenskyy, who says a ballot can't be held under the martial law that is currently in place due to the war.
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war → post → place
“We must find a legal, safe and realistic mechanism that will allow Ukraine to restore a full democratic process even amid a prolonged war,” Fedorov said.
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Fedorov → find → war
He said Ukraine is facing a systemic crisis in how it is governed, arguing that the current system is oriented toward protecting itself and resisting change.
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system → say → change
He also condemned corruption among officials without naming anyone, saying it had weakened Ukraine’s ability to fight the war.
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it → condemn → war
Zelenskyy’s office did not immediately comment on Fedorov’s address.
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office → comment → address
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has balked at negotiating a peace deal directly with Zelenskyy, says the Ukrainian president is an illegitimate leader because his term expired in 2024.
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term → balk → 2024
Fedorov published his speech hours after Ukraine’s Parliament received a submission from Zelenskyy nominating Yevhenii Khmara as the new defense minister.
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Parliament → publish → minister
Lawmakers were due to debate the president's candidate on Wednesday.
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Lawmakers → debate → Wednesday
Domestic political noise comes after Ukrainian successes in the war
The political disarray comes after recent successes in the war for Ukraine.
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disarray → come → Ukraine
Using its innovative drone technology, it has repeatedly hit Russian oil facilities, causing fuel shortages.
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it → use → shortages
It has also shocked the Russian public by striking warehouses of Wildberries, Russia's biggest online retailer, and stalled front-line advances by Russia's bigger army.
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It → shock → army
But Zelenskyy has been unable to get traction in U.S.-led peace efforts, and Ukraine is at the mercy of Russia's ballistic missiles because more U.S.-made Patriot interceptors aren't available due to low international stockpiles.
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interceptors → get → stockpiles
In its latest strike on oil facilities, a drone hit an oil refinery in Ufa in Russia's Bashkortostan, its Gov. Radiy Khabirov was quoted as saying by Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti.
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Khabirov → hit → agency
The city of Ufa is located roughly 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) east of the border with Ukraine.
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city → locate → Ukraine
There are three oil refineries in Ufa, and all three have been attacked before.
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three → be → Ufa
Russian air defenses overnight intercepted 453 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions, as well as occupied Crimea and the Black Sea, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said Wednesday.
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Ministry → intercept → Moscow
Meanwhile, in Ukraine, a Russian drone attacked a minibus in the southern Kherson region on Wednesday morning, killing four people, said Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson regional military administration.
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Prokudin → attack → administration
Four women were also wounded in the strike and were hospitalized, he said.
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he → wound → strike
Also, a Russian drone struck a civilian car in Kherson city, the region's capital, on Wednesday, killing a woman, said Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson regional military administration.
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Prokudin → strike → administration
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Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal.
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Hatton → report → Lisbon
The Aporia
