Ukraine graft probe hits Zelenskyy aides as ex-minister demands polls

Kyiv,UPDATED: Aug 19, 2026 16:18 IST

Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies said on Wednesday they are investigating senior officials in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office, adding to political pressure on the Ukrainian leader as the war with Russia enters its fifth year.

The announcement came a day after recently dismissed Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov called for national elections despite the war, in a direct challenge to Zelenskyy's position that voting cannot be held while martial law remains in force.

In a joint statement, Ukraine's Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office said investigators were carrying out an operation to expose a criminal organisation allegedly led by a sitting and a former lawmaker, involving senior officials from the presidential office and others.

The agencies said more details would be released later. The development is another test for Zelenskyy, who has faced several high-level graft investigations.

Last year, his chief of staff Andriy Yermak resigned and was later named as a suspect in a major graft probe linked to a luxury construction project. Also last year, a major embezzlement and kickbacks scandal involving the state-owned nuclear power company led to the resignations of Ukraine's justice and energy ministers.

The European Union has identified deep-rooted corruption as one of the main hurdles to Ukraine's push for membership of the bloc.

Zelenskyy is also facing pressure over his decision last month to remove Fedorov, one of the longest-serving members of his team and a close ally since helping him win the 2019 presidential election. As part of a wartime reshuffle, Zelenskyy also removed commander-in-chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, seeking to ease tensions between younger defence ministry reformers and more experienced battlefield commanders.

The move triggered days of street protests in support of Fedorov. It was the second time in a year that a wartime decision by Zelenskyy led to a strong public backlash, after his move in mid-2025 to limit the powers of anti-corruption agencies.

In a video address posted on YouTube late Tuesday, Fedorov called for elections to be held in Ukraine. “We must find a legal, safe and realistic mechanism that will allow Ukraine to restore a full democratic process even amid a prolonged war,” he said.

Fedorov said Ukraine was facing a systemic crisis in governance, arguing that the current system was focused on protecting itself and resisting change. He also criticised corruption among officials without naming anyone, saying it had weakened Ukraine's ability to fight the war.

Zelenskyy's office did not immediately comment on Fedorov's address. It was also not immediately clear whether his call for a ballot would find support among Ukrainians.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has resisted negotiating a peace deal directly with Zelenskyy, says the Ukrainian president is an illegitimate leader because his term expired in 2024.

Fedorov's speech came hours after Ukraine's Parliament received Zelenskyy's formal nomination of Yevhenii Khmara as the new defence minister, a step that effectively shuts the door on Fedorov's return to the post for now. Lawmakers were due to debate the nomination on Wednesday.

The domestic political tensions come after recent gains for Ukraine in the war. Using drones, Ukraine has repeatedly struck Russian oil facilities, causing fuel shortages. It has also hit warehouses of Wildberries, Russia's biggest online retailer, and has stalled front-line advances by Russian forces.

But Zelenskyy has struggled to gain momentum in US-led peace efforts, and Ukraine remains vulnerable to Russian ballistic missiles because more US-made Patriot interceptors are not available due to low international stockpiles.

In the latest strike on oil facilities, a drone hit an oil refinery in Ufa in Russia's Bashkortostan region, Governor Radiy Khabirov was quoted as saying by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. Ufa is about 1,300 kilometres east of the border with Ukraine. The city has three oil refineries, and all three have been attacked before.

Russia's Defence Ministry said air defences overnight intercepted 453 Ukrainian drones over several Russian regions, as well as occupied Crimea and the Black Sea. The ministry also said Russian forces on Tuesday evening hit a bulk carrier in the Black Sea, southeast of Odesa, that was carrying military equipment. On Wednesday, it said Russian forces struck fuel and lubricant storage tanks for the Ukrainian armed forces in the southern port of Chornomorsk.

In Ukraine, a Russian drone struck a minibus in the southern Kherson region on Wednesday morning, killing four people, according to regional military administration head Oleksandr Prokudin. He said four women were also wounded and taken to hospital. Prokudin also said a Russian drone hit a civilian car in Kherson city on Wednesday, killing a woman.

Amid the fighting, Russia and Ukraine each brought home 103 prisoners of war on Wednesday, according to Russia's Defence Ministry. The day saw Ukraine dealing with a fresh corruption investigation, a public political challenge from a former minister and continued fighting on multiple fronts.

With PTI Inputs

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