Zelensky fires aide amid graft probe as ex-defense chief demands elections

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed deputy chief of staff Iryna Mudra on Wednesday after anti-corruption investigators named her among suspects in a multimillion-dollar money-laundering case, plunging the country into its deepest political crisis since Russia's full-scale invasion began in 2022.

The firing came hours after ousted Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov issued a 10-minute YouTube address late Tuesday calling for wartime elections — a direct challenge to Zelensky's authority that analysts are interpreting as the opening of a presidential campaign.wsj+1

Corruption Probe Reaches Presidential Office

Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office announced a special operation targeting a group alleged to have laundered 150 million hryvnias ($3.4 million) to pay bail for a defendant in a major graft case involving the state-owned nuclear power company last year. The suspects include a former lawmaker, a state bank chairperson, the head of a bank's supervisory board, and a deputy head of the presidential office.latimes+1

Investigators searched Mudra's office on Wednesday, according to lawmaker Oleksii Honcharenko. Zelensky issued a decree dismissing her without public comment on the investigation. The probe builds on an investigation unveiled in November 2025 into an alleged $100 million kickback scheme at the state atomic energy agency that ensnared Zelensky's then-chief of staff Andriy Yermak.straitstimes+1

Fedorov's Challenge

Fedorov, 35, whose dismissal as defence minister in July sparked weeks of street protests, crossed a line no major Ukrainian politician had dared to since 2022. "Democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia," he said, calling for "a legal, safe and realistic mechanism" to restore elections even amid prolonged war.lemonde+1

The Wall Street Journal News Corp ↗ 0.12% reported the address is being interpreted in Kyiv as "the opening gambit in a potential run for the presidency." Political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko said Fedorov is "demonstrating his readiness to become the new opposition leader."wsj

Ukraine's constitution prohibits elections under martial law, and a recent poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology showed 57 percent of Ukrainians believe elections should wait until after the war.straitstimes

Parliament Moves On

Hours after Fedorov's address, lawmakers voted 312 in favour to confirm Maj. Gen. Yevhenii Khmara as the new defence minister, effectively shutting the door on Fedorov's return to the post. Khmara, a former special forces commander best known for masterminding Ukraine's deep strikes into Russia, takes charge as Kyiv contends with mounting Russian ballistic-missile attacks and grinding front-line advances.democrata+1

Outspoken lawmaker Mariana Bezuhla offered a barbed assessment: "Yevhenii Khmara is the president's drone: photogenic, heroic, obedient, and lacking its own governing system."straitstimes