KYIV: Pressure is mounting on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to take stronger action to show accountability in the face of a corruption scandal presenting the greatest threat to his government since Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Last week, Zelensky dismissed two top officials and imposed sanctions on close associates after government investigators revealed that $100 million had been embezzled from the country’s energy sector through kickbacks paid by contractors.
But that hasn’t quieted the political storm. After more than three years of war in which Ukrainians face regular power outages as a result of Russia’s fierce bombardment, corruption in the energy sector isn’t sitting well with the public. Calls are growing for Zelensky to remove his longtime chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, who many consider to be Ukraine’s de facto vice president.
Neither Zelensky nor Yermak have been accused of any wrongdoing by those leading the corruption investigation. Yet Zelensky’s political opponents — as well as allies worried the scandal could weaken their parliamentary governing coalition — say more senior leaders need to be held accountable to restore public trust.
Zelensky’s critics say it’s also important to bolster credibility with Ukraine’s Western allies, whose support is vital to the war effort and in eventually negotiating an end to the conflict.
“It’s really hard to imagine that all this happening at the behest of people from the outside without political support,” Anastasia Radina, the head of parliament’s anti-corruption committee, said on Facebook on Wednesday. By not cutting ties with Yermak, Zelensky is “provoking an even greater internal crisis,” she said.
The country has been plagued by corruption since gaining independence, and Zelensky was elected on a mandate to eliminate graft.
Two officials in Zelensky’s office say the president has not made any decision to dismiss Yermak. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were no authorized to brief journalists.
Zelensky dismisses top officials, sanctions close associates
The investigation conducted by Ukraine’s anti-corruption watchdogs implicated high-ranking Ukrainian officials with pressuring contractors to pay up to 15 percent kickbacks in exchange for construction business with Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear energy company, Energoatom.
The investigation involved over 1,000 hours of wiretaps of individuals using code names and cryptic language to discuss the scheme. In some conversations, references were made to a powerful figure operating under the alias “Ali Baba,” though this person’s identity has not been made public, if it is even known.
After the scheme was made public, Ukraine’s parliament approved Zelensky’s dismissal of the country’s energy and justice ministers, and the president’s office imposed sanctions on close associates who were implicated, including Tymur Mindich, a co-owner of Zelensky’s media production company.
The scandal landed just as Russian airstrikes had left millions of Ukrainians without power, which only intensified the furor. Earlier this year, Zelensky faced criticism for trying to weaken the watchdog agencies leading the investigation.
Zelensky’s political opponents say it is hard to believe that such a huge corruption scheme could have taken place without the knowledge of Yermak — the presidential adviser who has towered over Ukrainian politics for six years — though they have not provided any evidence to support the allegation.
Yermak has not publicly addressed the calls for his resignation.
However, Yermak has apparently sought to bolster his support within the government. He sought to arrange a meeting with Ukraine’s popular former army chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who is currently Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, according to an official close to Zaluzhnyi who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The request for a meeting was denied, the official said.
Yermak’s spokesperson did not respond to request for comment.
Political pressure grows
Zelensky’s landslide victory in 2019 resulted in him obtaining around two-thirds of the seats in parliament. Many of his allies favor Yermak’s resignation, said lawmaker Oleksandr Merezhko, who is a member of the president’s political party.
“The faction and the parliament don’t want to bear responsibility for the corruption,” he said.
Around 30 members of parliament from Zelensky’s party are campaigning to create a coalition of national stability based on unity and not political interests and backroom deals, said Mykyta Porturaev, a leading Zelensky party lawmaker. But the head of Zelensky’s party, David Arakhamia, said Porturaev’s announcement did not reflect the official party line. Ukraine’s parliamentary speaker, Ruslan Stefanchuk, said lawmakers are consulting on next steps.
A powerful figure
Yermak met Zelensky over 15 years ago when he was a lawyer venturing into the TV production business and Zelensky was a famous Ukrainian comedian and actor.
Yermak plays a central role in Zelensky’s administration in managing relationships with the US and other Western countries, and developing possible scenarios for a ceasefire with Russia.
He oversaw foreign affairs as part of Zelensky’s first presidential team and was promoted to chief of staff in February 2020.
Yermak has accompanied Zelensky on every trip abroad since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, and the president’s trust in him has made Yermak’s power appear almost insurmountable.
Domestically, officials describe Yermak as Zelensky’s gatekeeper, and he is widely believed to have chosen all top government appointees, including prime ministers and ministers.
Individuals connected to Yermak and the president’s office have come under investigation before.
Two of Yermak’s former deputies — Oleg Tatarov and Rostyslav Shurma — left the government in 2024 under pressure after watchdogs investigated them for financial wrongdoing. A third deputy, Andriy Smirnov, was investigated for bribes and other wrongdoing, but still works for Yermak.
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A corruption scandal pressures Ukraine’s Zelensky to show greater accountability
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A corruption scandal pressures Ukraine’s Zelensky to show greater accountability
- The scandal landed just as Russian airstrikes had left millions of Ukrainians without power, which only intensified the furor
Elections under fire: Colombia endures deadliest campaign in decades
- A presidential candidate has been assassinated, rebels have pipe bombed a major city and a third of the country is considered unsafe for candidates
SUAREZ: A presidential candidate has been assassinated, rebels have pipe?bombed a major city and a third of the country is considered unsafe for candidates — all making Colombia’s 2026 election campaign one of the most violent in decades.
Nowhere is that danger more palpable than in Cauca, where a silver armored SUV hurries along a mountain track, watched by rifle-wielding guerrillas.
Every second spent along the route is a risk for passenger Esneyder Gomez, a 46-year-old Indigenous candidate hoping to win election to Colombia’s Congress on March 8.
Neatly groomed and driven by anger about the treatment of his Nasa minority, Gomez is hunting for votes in a rebel?controlled region of Colombia’s lawless southwest.
The danger is real. He has been threatened by the guerrilla for a decade. A few months ago his vehicle was shot up as he returned from a political event.
Just days ago, Indigenous legislator Aida Quilcue was kidnapped in the same area, before being released after frantic negotiations.
AFP recently followed Gomez as he trudged village to village along muddy roads, trying to win the votes of Indigenous communities.
The son of a Nasa Indigenous guerrilla and an Afro?Colombian police officer, his protection is a phalanx of some 30 Indigenous Guards, some barely out of their teens and armed with little more than batons.
“The risk is constant,” Gomez says, noting wryly that in the decade-and-a-half since Colombia’s biggest armed groups signed a peace deal, peace remains elusive.
“Post?conflict is turning out harsher than the conflict itself,” he says.
Ahead of the legislative elections and a presidential vote on May 31, at least 61 political leaders have been killed, according to the country’s Electoral Observation Mission.
The violence was brought into sharp focus last June, when young conservative presidential frontrunner Miguel Uribe Turbay was shot in broad daylight while campaigning in the capital, Bogota.
Candidates are under threat of violence in 130 municipalities — about a third of the total — according to observers.
- ‘61 years of struggle’ -
For many Colombians, the uptick in violence has recalled bad old days of the 1980s and 1990s, when five presidential candidates were assassinated, with drug lords like Pablo Escobar calling the shots.
Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez announced a deployment of security forces to ensure “safe” elections.
But many blame the rise in violence on the incumbent leftist government’s policy of trying to negotiate rather than fight armed groups.
During incumbent Gustavo Petro’s four years in the presidential palace, many groups have expanded territory and grown rich as coca production has hit record highs.
According to UN figures, cocaine exports are now over 1,700 tons, higher than at any point on record.
Evidence of the trade can be seen all across the steep mist-covered mountains that flank Gomez’s route.
The hillsides are painted emerald green with coca crops. They will likely be harvested, turned into cocaine and shipped to rich customers in North America and Europe.
Immediately after the 2016 peace agreement, people “could move more safely” Gomez says.
The main faction of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia — FARC — laid down arms. But dissident factions did not.
Today they impose “territorial control” says Gomez.
“I’ve seen many, many colleagues fall” to armed groups, he adds. “It is infuriating. It makes your blood boil.”
In this part of the Cauca, the rebels make no attempt to remain in the shadows. A poster boasts of “61 years of struggle” featuring a famed guerrilla fighter.
Along the road, armed rebels man checkpoints where travelers must identify themselves. Cameras are unwelcome.
- ‘This must stop’ -
Gomez’s Indigenous bodyguards are always unarmed, hoping to avoid confrontation, explains Jose Yatacue, coordinator of the Nasa unit.
They hope to solve any problems through dialogue, but acknowledge their protectee “is at risk” because of his past role as a social leader “and even more as a candidate.”
Neither the communities nor Yatacue’s guard can rely on the large-scale intervention of the state, only a few unarmed state bodyguards accompany them.
The region is replete with dissidents loyal to warlord Nestor Gregorio Vera Fernandez — better known as Ivan Mordisco, Colombia’s most wanted guerrilla.
He is accused by the government of crimes against humanity and ethnocide of the Nasa, including the forced recruitment of Indigenous children.
“It has been systematic,” Gomez says. “They have brutalized the Nasa people. This must stop.”
The area will be a test of whether Colombia’s elections can be free, fair and safe across the whole country.
“We have been a forgotten territory,” says Luz Dary Munoz, leader of a nearby hamlet. “Everything we have built has been through community effort.”
Nowhere is that danger more palpable than in Cauca, where a silver armored SUV hurries along a mountain track, watched by rifle-wielding guerrillas.
Every second spent along the route is a risk for passenger Esneyder Gomez, a 46-year-old Indigenous candidate hoping to win election to Colombia’s Congress on March 8.
Neatly groomed and driven by anger about the treatment of his Nasa minority, Gomez is hunting for votes in a rebel?controlled region of Colombia’s lawless southwest.
The danger is real. He has been threatened by the guerrilla for a decade. A few months ago his vehicle was shot up as he returned from a political event.
Just days ago, Indigenous legislator Aida Quilcue was kidnapped in the same area, before being released after frantic negotiations.
AFP recently followed Gomez as he trudged village to village along muddy roads, trying to win the votes of Indigenous communities.
The son of a Nasa Indigenous guerrilla and an Afro?Colombian police officer, his protection is a phalanx of some 30 Indigenous Guards, some barely out of their teens and armed with little more than batons.
“The risk is constant,” Gomez says, noting wryly that in the decade-and-a-half since Colombia’s biggest armed groups signed a peace deal, peace remains elusive.
“Post?conflict is turning out harsher than the conflict itself,” he says.
Ahead of the legislative elections and a presidential vote on May 31, at least 61 political leaders have been killed, according to the country’s Electoral Observation Mission.
The violence was brought into sharp focus last June, when young conservative presidential frontrunner Miguel Uribe Turbay was shot in broad daylight while campaigning in the capital, Bogota.
Candidates are under threat of violence in 130 municipalities — about a third of the total — according to observers.
- ‘61 years of struggle’ -
For many Colombians, the uptick in violence has recalled bad old days of the 1980s and 1990s, when five presidential candidates were assassinated, with drug lords like Pablo Escobar calling the shots.
Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez announced a deployment of security forces to ensure “safe” elections.
But many blame the rise in violence on the incumbent leftist government’s policy of trying to negotiate rather than fight armed groups.
During incumbent Gustavo Petro’s four years in the presidential palace, many groups have expanded territory and grown rich as coca production has hit record highs.
According to UN figures, cocaine exports are now over 1,700 tons, higher than at any point on record.
Evidence of the trade can be seen all across the steep mist-covered mountains that flank Gomez’s route.
The hillsides are painted emerald green with coca crops. They will likely be harvested, turned into cocaine and shipped to rich customers in North America and Europe.
Immediately after the 2016 peace agreement, people “could move more safely” Gomez says.
The main faction of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia — FARC — laid down arms. But dissident factions did not.
Today they impose “territorial control” says Gomez.
“I’ve seen many, many colleagues fall” to armed groups, he adds. “It is infuriating. It makes your blood boil.”
In this part of the Cauca, the rebels make no attempt to remain in the shadows. A poster boasts of “61 years of struggle” featuring a famed guerrilla fighter.
Along the road, armed rebels man checkpoints where travelers must identify themselves. Cameras are unwelcome.
- ‘This must stop’ -
Gomez’s Indigenous bodyguards are always unarmed, hoping to avoid confrontation, explains Jose Yatacue, coordinator of the Nasa unit.
They hope to solve any problems through dialogue, but acknowledge their protectee “is at risk” because of his past role as a social leader “and even more as a candidate.”
Neither the communities nor Yatacue’s guard can rely on the large-scale intervention of the state, only a few unarmed state bodyguards accompany them.
The region is replete with dissidents loyal to warlord Nestor Gregorio Vera Fernandez — better known as Ivan Mordisco, Colombia’s most wanted guerrilla.
He is accused by the government of crimes against humanity and ethnocide of the Nasa, including the forced recruitment of Indigenous children.
“It has been systematic,” Gomez says. “They have brutalized the Nasa people. This must stop.”
The area will be a test of whether Colombia’s elections can be free, fair and safe across the whole country.
“We have been a forgotten territory,” says Luz Dary Munoz, leader of a nearby hamlet. “Everything we have built has been through community effort.”
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