Ukraine anti-corruption agencies investigating network allegedly tied to Zelenskyy's office
Investigators looking into criminal network allegedly involving senior officials in president's office
Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies announced Wednesday that they were investigating senior officials in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office, a day after the country's recently fired defence minister called for national elections despite the ongoing fight against Russia's invasion.
uncertain
minister → investigate → invasion
The political drama is an unwelcome distraction for Zelenskyy as Ukraine's war with its bigger neighbour extends into its fifth year.
asserted
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 statement said.
asserted
statement → release → ?
Zelenskyy made no public comment on the investigation but issued a decree dismissing Iryna Mudra from the position of deputy head of the president's office.
asserted
Zelenskyy → make → office
The investigation brought another test of Zelenskyy's political resilience.
asserted
investigation → 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.
asserted
chief → resign → February
Zelenskyy is already under pressure over his firing last month of Defence 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.
asserted
Zelenskyy → stand → election
Ukraine's parliament approved the appointment of Yevhenii Khmara as new defence minister on Wednesday.
asserted
parliament → approve → Wednesday
Zelenskyy nominated Khmara, whom he had earlier appointed as acting minister, after the ousting of Fedorov in July.
asserted
he → nominate → July
The appointment was backed by 312 lawmakers, with 226 needed for a majority.
asserted
226 → back → majority
Ex-defence minister calls for elections
Zelenskyy, seeking to reconcile tensions between the Defence Ministry's young and tech-savvy innovators and Ukraine's seasoned, Soviet-trained battlefield leaders, risked angering both sides by reshuffling his wartime leadership.
asserted
leaders → call → leadership
He ousted both Fedorov, whose changes to military procurement aimed to stamp out corruption, and commander-in-chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi.
asserted
changes → oust → chief
The move sparked days of street protests in support of Fedorov.
asserted
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.
asserted
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.
asserted
that → post → war
"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.
asserted
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.
asserted
system → say → change
He also condemned corruption among officials without naming anyone, saying it had weakened Ukraine's ability to fight the war.
asserted
it → condemn → war
Zelenskyy's office did not immediately comment on Fedorov's address.
asserted
office → comment → address
Russian missile attack in Kharkiv kills at least 10, as Ukraine keeps up drone attacks in Moscow
Could an explosive drone at a German airport signal a growing Russian threat to NATO?
uncertain
drone → kill → NATO
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.
asserted
term → balk → 2024
Fedorov published his speech hours after Ukraine's parliament received a submission from Zelenskyy nominating Khmara as the new defence minister.
asserted
parliament → publish → minister
The political disarray comes after recent successes in the war for Ukraine.
asserted
disarray → come → Ukraine
Using its innovative drone technology, it has repeatedly hit Russian oil facilities, causing fuel shortages.
asserted
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 army.
asserted
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.
asserted
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.
asserted
Khabirov → hit → agency
The city of Ufa is located roughly 1,300 kilometres east of the border with Ukraine.
asserted
city → locate → Ukraine
There are three oil refineries in Ufa, and all three have been attacked before.
asserted
three → be → Ufa
Russian air defences overnight intercepted 453 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions, as well as occupied Crimea and the Black Sea, the Defence Ministry in Moscow said Wednesday.
asserted
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.
asserted
Prokudin → attack → administration
Four women were also wounded in the strike and were hospitalized, he said.
asserted
he → wound → strike
A Russian drone also struck a civilian car in Kherson city, the region's capital, on Wednesday, killing a woman, Prokudin said.
asserted
Prokudin → strike → woman
The Aporia
