Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed a senior aide, Iryna Mudra, amid a fresh corruption investigation, one day after former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov called for a wartime presidential election, warning the country faced a systemic crisis of governance.
Mudra, a presidential deputy chief of staff, was removed by decree after Ukrainian media reported that her home was being searched by officials investigating an alleged money-laundering scheme. No official reason was given for her sacking.
Election call and corruption accusations
Fedorov, who was removed from his post in July, became the first major public figure to call for a presidential poll, directly challenging the sitting president. In a nine-minute video address released on social media late Tuesday, Fedorov said: “Corruption is only a symptom. The main problem runs much deeper. We have a systemic crisis of governance.”
Elections have been suspended in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Zelenskyy’s term notionally expired in spring 2024, but a wartime election is prohibited by the constitution, and most Ukrainians consider it impractical and potentially divisive while Russia continues daily attacks.
Fedorov argued: “Can Russia effectively be given the right to dictate when Ukrainians can choose their government again? I am convinced that the answer is no.” He is now considering visiting the US, possibly as soon as next week, in an apparent effort to win American support. US President Donald Trump has previously called for Ukraine to hold elections, though his comments were made during a strained period in his relationship with Zelenskyy.
Anti-corruption operation and money-laundering allegations
The Nabu anti-corruption agency said it was conducting a special operation to expose a criminal conspiracy involving “the participation of high-ranking officials from the office of the president” and several others. Nabu released a video indicating that those involved included a deputy head of the president’s office, a serving MP, a former MP, and the CEO and supervisory board head at a state-owned bank, though none were named.
Nabu added that the group was accused of laundering 150 million hryvnias (£2.5 million) through the state-owned bank to post bail in June for former energy minister Herman Haluschenko, who is facing anti-corruption charges. Haluschenko is a defendant in the high-profile Midas corruption case, alongside businessman Timur Mindich, who has fled the country. Mindich is a former associate of the president and former co-owner of the TV production company Kvartal 95, co-founded by Zelenskyy before he entered politics.
Mindich is accused of orchestrating a large-scale corruption scheme uncovered last November, in which kickbacks were demanded from companies seeking to supply the state-owned nuclear power generator Energoatom. The scandal damaged Zelenskyy’s credibility. A fortnight later, his then chief aide, Andriy Yermak, resigned after anti-corruption investigators searched his home. Yermak was arrested in May on suspicion of money laundering; his lawyer has dismissed the allegations as “baseless”. Mindich, who fled to Israel, also denies wrongdoing.
Zelenskyy’s response and housing certificates
Zelenskyy did not directly address Fedorov’s accusations or his election demand in his initial public statements, though he thanked Ukraine’s parliament for voting to confirm Fedorov’s replacement, Yevhen Khmara, in the post. Later on Wednesday, Zelenskyy presented 25 certificates giving housing to decorated veterans and their families. The president said Ukraine was a country that honoured its heroes and emphasised the importance of being thankful to its bravest troops. “Gratitude is what should accompany respect. It must be an integral part of a normal state, a normal society and normal people,” he said, in what was perhaps the closest he came all day to commenting on the crisis.
