Ukraine: President Zelensky’s senior aide fired amid corruption crisis ⁰

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed a senior aide amid a new corruption investigation; one day after his former defence minister warned of a “crisis of governance” and called for a wartime presidential election.

Iryna Mudra, a deputy chief of staff in the presidential office, was removed by decree on Wednesday. Ukrainian media reported that investigators were searching her home as part of an alleged money-laundering inquiry.

The case has been described as involving a group of people alleged to have laundered 150 million hryvnias ($3.4 million) to pay bail for a defendant in a major graft case last year, according to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau.

The case, which involves the state-owned nuclear power company, brought the resignations of Ukraine’s justice and energy ministers earlier this year.

A former lawmaker, the chairperson of a state bank’s board, the head of the bank’s supervisory board, and a deputy head of the presidential office have now been added as new suspects in the case.

The scandal follows earlier resignations and investigations that damaged the president’s standing, including the departure of former chief aide Andriy Yermak.

Mudra’s dismissal came a day after the former defence minister called for elections.

Former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who was recently ousted, warned in a video address released late on Tuesday that the country was facing “a crisis of governance” and needed to hold a presidential election.

Zelensky showed no direct reaction to Fedorov’s statement or his election demand, and instead thanked Ukraine’s parliament for voting to confirm Fedorov’s replacement, Yevhen Khmara, as the new defence minister.

For weeks, Ukrainians have protested Zelensky’s dismissal of Fedorov, gathering daily in Kiev. The protests reflect public frustration with frequent reshuffles and a perceived lack of transparency in Zelensky’s administration.

His dismissal became a rallying point for those demanding effective leadership and innovative solutions to address Ukraine’s increasing shortage of young army-age personnel, which has strained the regime’s ability to sustain its war effort.

In the video, Fedorov blamed Zelensky for widespread corruption, saying the actor-turned-president lacked the competence to eradicate the problem from its root.

“Corruption is only a symptom. The main problem runs much deeper. We have a systemic crisis of governance,” Fedorov said in the nine-minute video posted online Tuesday.

The former defence minister said it was possible to “restore a full democratic process even amid a prolonged war.”

Zelensky’s five-year term as president has been extended indefinitely, as presidential elections are suspended under martial law following Russia’s launch of its special military operation in Donbas in February 2022.