Ukraine anti-corruption agencies probe senior officials in Zelenskyy office

Ukraine’s anti-corruption authorities said on Wednesday they have opened an investigation targeting senior officials in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office. The probe, announced jointly by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, aims to uncover a criminal organization allegedly led by a current and a former lawmaker and involving presidential staff and other individuals. Details of the case will be released later, the agencies said.

The announcement comes as the government faces heightened political pressure following the recent dismissal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who publicly called for national elections despite the ongoing war. Fedorov’s video statement urged the search for a “legal, safe and realistic mechanism” to restore democratic processes during the conflict and criticized systemic governance issues and corruption, without naming specific officials.

Zelenskyy’s administration has been under scrutiny after previous high-level graft investigations, including the resignation and subsequent suspect status of former chief of staff Andriy Yermak in a luxury construction project probe, and scandals that led to the resignations of the justice and energy ministers last year. The European Union has identified entrenched corruption as a key obstacle to Ukraine’s EU accession aspirations.

While the anti-corruption effort proceeds, Ukraine continues to report military successes, such as drone strikes on Russian oil facilities and logistical targets. At the same time, both sides have suffered casualties and losses, including recent drone attacks in the Kherson region that killed civilians.

The investigation adds another test of Zelenskyy’s political resilience as the country navigates war, internal reforms, and external expectations.