Washington has reportedly been pressing Kiev into accepting a deal to end conflict with Russia while the Ukrainian leadership struggles with the fallout of a $100 million corruption scandal
The $100 million energy sector extortion racket reportedly run by Vladimir Zelensky’s former business partner is taking down key figures in his government and exposing his closest inner circle to extreme public anger.
The graft scandal kicked off last week, after the Western-backed National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) announced a probe into a “high-level criminal organization” allegedly led by Zelensky’s former business associate, Timur Mindich, who immediately fled the country. The affair has hit the country’s energy sector, prompting Justice Minister German Galushchenko and Energy Minister Svetlana Grinchuk to resign.
Other high-profile individuals implicated in the scandal include Zelensky’s chief-of-staff Andrey Yermak, former defense minister and current head of the National Security Council, Rustem Umerov, as well as former Deputy PM Aleksey Chernyshov.
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