Sacked Fedorov: Zelensky must answer on corruption
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- Mykhailo Fedorov told the BBC that Zelensky should be questioned about his awareness of corruption in his inner circle following a money laundering investigation that uncovered a scheme to misappropriate over $3m (£2.2m) in Ukrainian currency to pay bail for a former energy minister.
- Fedorov said he personally never received any task from Zelensky that violated law or integrity and claimed he had no evidence the president was personally corrupt, though he noted he'd had no contact with Zelensky for "a couple of weeks."
- Fedorov renewed his call for wartime elections, saying "democracy should not be the hostage of Putin," but declined to declare immediate political ambitions and refused to say whether he'd back Zelensky in any future vote.
- Fedorov criticized "bureaucracy and red tape" in the UK and other Western allies for delaying promised weapons, noting the UK has spent £16bn supplying arms since the war began and confirming that British-made drones have struck Russian targets.
- Fedorov announced plans to visit the United States to meet Elon Musk, aiming to convince the billionaire to extend Starlink satellite coverage into Russian airspace to assist Ukrainian long-range strikes without the Kremlin benefiting.
- Zelensky's office pushed back on Fedorov, with a spokesperson noting Fedorov had been part of every Ukrainian government since 2019 and saying it was "strange" he framed these as different administrations without him.
- Fedorov urged direct Western funding of Ukrainian drone production, declaring "we don't need repairs of tanks when we no longer use tanks," and said Ukrainian battlefield experience was "beneficial" to allies supporting the war effort.
Why it matters: A sacked reformist defence minister who pioneered Ukraine's drone army is now publicly challenging the president to explain a $3m laundering probe in his own office while pressing for elections — moves that have already drawn a sharp rebuttal from Zelensky's office and put the wartime leadership on the defensive.
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