Zelenskyy office probed as ousted minister seeks elections
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- Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office announced Wednesday they are investigating senior officials in Zelenskyy's office, targeting an alleged criminal organization led by a sitting and former lawmaker.
- Mykhailo Fedorov, fired as defense minister one month ago, called for national elections in a Tuesday YouTube address, warning of a 'systemic crisis' in governance and condemning official corruption without naming anyone.
- Zelenskyy's ousting of Fedorov and commander-in-chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi sparked days of street protests — his second wartime decision in a year to trigger public backlash, after he moved in mid-2025 to curb anti-corruption agencies' powers.
- Zelenskyy nominated Yevhenii Khmara as the new defense minister; Parliament was to debate the nomination Wednesday, hours after Fedorov published his election demand.
- Vladimir Putin has refused to negotiate with Zelenskyy, calling him illegitimate because his term expired in 2024 — a position Fedorov's election call implicitly validates.
- Ukraine's drone campaign struck an oil refinery in Ufa (roughly 1,300 km from the border), while Russia intercepted 453 Ukrainian drones overnight; Russian drone strikes killed five civilians in Kherson region the same day.
Why it matters: The political crisis lands as Ukraine hits Russian oil facilities and Wildberries warehouses with long-range drones but remains locked out of U.S.-led peace talks and short on Patriot interceptors. Fedorov's election demand — coming from a Zelenskyy ally fired for cleaning up military procurement — gives Putin fresh ammunition to dismiss Zelenskyy's legitimacy, a claim Putin already makes because the president's term expired in 2024.
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