Ukraine's anti-corruption agency has announced new investigations focusing on lawmakers and people from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office, a day after popular former Defense Minister Mykhaylo Fedorov issued a video calling for him to hold new elections .
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) released a trailer-style video on August 19 of what they call Operation Forest Gump.
“NABU and SAP are conducting a special operation to expose a criminal organization that operated under the leadership of current and former members of the Ukrainian parliament and included high-ranking officials from the Office of the President of Ukraine and other individuals,” they said in a statement.
Later, the two agencies released a 24-minute video with details of the investigation.
It said people had been arrested for organizing and facilitating money laundering connected with Operation Midas, an extensive investigation that led Zelenskyy to sack his powerful chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, in May.
It said the group under investigation included the deputy head of Zelenskyy's office, a former lawmaker, the chairman of the board of a state-owned bank, the chairman of the supervisory board of a state-owned bank, and other individuals.
Opposition lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko wrote on social media that searches were taking place at the premises of Iryna Mudra, deputy head of Zelenskyy’s office. Hours later, she was dismissed from her post with no explanation given in the announcement.
Businessman Vadym Stolar, a former opposition lawmaker, wrote on social media that “NABU investigators are conducting their actions at my home.”
There was no immediate comment from Zelenskyy’s office on the anti-corruption investigation or Fedorov’s video. Zelenskyy did post photos about a Russian drone attack on a bus in Kherson that, he said, killed four people, and about a prisoner exchange with Russia.
Zelenskyy has not been directly implicated in any corruption charges or named as an official suspect.
Still, the investigation adds to pressure on Zelenskyy following the release of Fedorov's video condemning wartime corruption and arguing that Ukraine must find a way to hold elections despite the ongoing conflict.
Dressed in black in an echo of Zelenskyy’s trademark sartorial style, Fedorov said “democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia,” a reference to the fact that presidential elections have been postponed due to the full-scale invasion launched by Moscow in 2022.
“We are fighting precisely because we want to remain a free European state. Therefore, we must find a legal, safe, and realistic mechanism that will allow Ukraine to restore a full-fledged democratic process even in the conditions of a protracted war," Fedorov said.
Fedorov’s dismissal last month sparked protests in Kyiv that led Zelenskyy to fire Ukraine’s army chief -- but Zelenskyy did not agree to the protestors’ demand that Fedorov be reinstated.
Instead, he proposed the acting head of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), Yevhen Khmara, as the new defense minister. The country’s parliament approved Khmara’s appointment on August 19.
'A False Start'
There was a further demonstration in support of Fedorov near the parliament building on August 19, attended by several dozen people. Previous protests have been larger.
“Fedorov needed to address the people who are taking to the streets in protest. In other words, he needed to raise this issue publicly in some way,” Ihor Reiterovych, head of legal and political programs at the Ukrainian Center for Social Development, told Current Time.
“If the specific goal was to launch some kind of political campaign, a presidential campaign or something along those lines, then this is a false start. I’m looking at the reaction, for example, on Threads, where there are quite a large number of people who are positively disposed toward Fedorov, and they did not like the idea of elections in this (wartime) context,” he added.
Reiterovych was not alone in questioning the political impact of Fedorov's statement.
"Mykhaylo Fedorov's statement seems weak to some, because no names were mentioned. To some, it seems strong, because they oppose Zelenskyy and expected certainty from Fedorov. But now this is definitely the beginning of a political game. And a game broader than Fedorov's campaign," wrote political analyst and former lawmaker Vadym Denysenko on social media.
“The elections have not yet taken place for two reasons: the fear of war is greater than the need for elections, and because of Zelenskyy's (low) ratings,” he added.
