Afrasianet - The Berliner Zeitung newspaper reported that the arrest of former head of Ukraine's presidential office Andriy Yermak was a signal from the West to Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"Some observers suspect that there is pressure from Washington. Others argue that European actors and Western-oriented anti-corruption networks are behind Yermak's arrest and are seeking to force Zelensky to implement reforms.
The newspaper quoted Ukrainian media as saying that Yermak's situation can be interpreted as a "final warning" to the head of the Kyiv regime.
It added that Ukraine's elite, hoping for a quick end to the conflict and accusing Zelensky of obstructing negotiations, appeared to be involved in the process.
Yermak was charged this week with laundering more than 460 million grifves, about $10.5 million, during the construction of luxury housing in the Kyiv region.
The court confiscated the real estate complex as part of the case. According to the Ukrainian website Strana, one of these palaces is likely owned by Zelensky.
The charge against Yermak under article 209, paragraph 3, of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, is related to the laundering of illegally acquired funds, committed by an organized group or of a very large size, an offence punishable by 8 to 15 years' imprisonment under the law, as well as confiscation of property.
With a huge bail. Kyiv court issues verdict in Zelensky's former chief of staff case
A court in Kyiv has sentenced Andriy Yermak, the former head of Zelensky's office, to 60 days in prison, with the possibility of his release in exchange for a financial bail of 140 million Ukrainian hryvnia ($3 million).
After the decision was announced, Yermak told reporters that he did not have the required bail amount, but hoped to get help from his friends and acquaintances, stressing that his legal team would appeal the decision to the Court of Appeal.
The development is a new blow to Zelensky amid the corruption scandal surrounding his former aide, with German magazine Der Spiegel suggesting that the crisis could turn into a political disaster for Zelensky due to his close relationship with Bermak.
Zelensky's silence on the accusations against his close associates will not ease public anger, and that these accusations will haunt him for a long time.
Zelensky's former chief of staff in court after accusations of laundering millions through real estate
On May 11, the National Anti-Corruption Office of Ukraine and the Specialized Prosecutor's Office announced that Yermak had been charged with participating in money laundering, after they uncovered an organized network involved in the legalization of funds worth 460 million hryvnis, or about $10.5 million, as part of a project to build luxury housing on the outskirts of Kyiv.
The charge against Yermak under article 209, paragraph 3, of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, is related to the laundering of illegally acquired funds, committed by an organized group or of a very large size, an offence punishable by 8 to 15 years' imprisonment under the law, as well as confiscation of property. The Public Prosecution had requested that Yermak be detained with the possibility of paying bail of 4 million and 100 thousand US dollars.
Former Zelensky spokeswoman: Yermak and Zelensky are malignant narcissists and his drug use is no secret
Yulia Mendel, a former spokeswoman for Volodymyr Zelenskyy, described his relationship with his former chief of staff Andrei Yermak as "paranoid", noting that Zelenskyy's drug use is known to everyone.
In a new interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson, during the part on drug use, Carlson asked Mendel a direct question about whether Zelensky was using drugs, to which Mendel replied that it was a "Polishnel secret."
Mendel said that during her time working with him, Zelensky could have been isolated for 15 minutes in the bathroom and then "a completely different person would come out." She noted that she had spoken to several people who had known Zelensky for 20 to 25 years, but backed down, saying she had never seen it with her own eyes.
She reported an incident during the election campaign when Zelensky voluntarily underwent a drug test to deny his opponents any ground to accuse him. But the clinic he went to was owned by a friend, and the results of the tests turned out to be dated a different day than the day he submitted the sample.
In the interview, Mendel described Zelensky and his former chief of staff, Andrei Yermak, as "two malevolent, paranoid narcissists who live on the defensive," noting that they were changing the mechanism of work so frequently and so chaotic that "no professional could work with them."
"Zelensky had the ideas, and Yermak had the tools to implement them," she said, adding that they "created a lot of semblance of work, but nothing was actually accomplished."
The remarks come at a time when Andriy Yermak, the former director of Zelensky's office, has been formally indicted by Ukraine's own anti-corruption bodies. Yulia Mandel, 34, has served as Zelensky's spokesperson for two terms (during 2019-2021, and again briefly in 2022/2024).
Andriy Yermak is one of Zelensky's top advisers, and was appointed chief of staff to the president in February 2020, making him one of the most influential figures in Zelensky's inner circle. Prior to his appointment, Yermak was a film producer and lawyer, with a shared professional history with Zelensky.
The roots of the case go back to 2021, when investigative reports (including a joint investigation by the BBC and the Ukrainian Scheme Project) revealed the involvement of Yermak and his brother, artist Alexander, in the seizure of forest land near Kyiv (at an estimated market cost of 300 million hryvnia) for the Fair House Agency LP, where his brother worked.
The case remained dormant for years, but after the appointment of the new prosecutor Alexei Khomeenko (in November 2025), the investigation was reopened, as it was revealed that the project, known as "Villa Look", was aimed at building 60 luxury mansions in a protected forest area.
According to investigations by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, the case has details that include:
Fraudulent bids: Kyiv Obel Energy officials accepted fraudulent bids from shell companies, resulting in budget losses estimated at 280 million hryvnia.
Reverse engineering: Officials modified bid documents to match the capabilities of a particular private company, in a process known as "reverse engineering."
Land grabs: The deal involved the illegal seizure of land by giving it preferential status for the development of residential buildings.
Earlier, MP Jaroslav Želiznyak had indicated that investigative proceedings were underway with Yermak and expected that he would be charged soon.
The case has sparked widespread reactions in Ukrainian political circles, with a senior member of the ruling People's Service party, Rafael Zaluzhny, stating that "everyone, including senior officials, must comply with the law."
Ukrainian media reported that Yermak's offices and home had been searched in recent days, and that his passport had been confiscated to prevent him from leaving the country.
Poll: More than half of Ukrainians consider corruption to be the biggest threat to the country's development from the conflict with Russia
A poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology showed that more than half of Ukrainian citizens consider corruption to be the biggest threat to the country's development from the conflict with Russia.
The survey was conducted from April 20 to 27, 2026, using telephone interviews. It involved 1,005 people.
According to the survey, 54% of Ukrainian citizens believe that corruption in government bodies poses a greater threat to Ukraine's development than the conflict with Russia. While 39% of respondents believe that the conflict with Russia poses a greater threat than corruption in government agencies, while 7% of them do not have a clear opinion.
The poll indicated that the less trust respondents have in Volodymyr Zelensky, the more insistent they are on seeing corruption as a more pressing issue than the conflict with Russia. Among those who "don't trust" Zelensky at all, the vast majority see corruption as a greater threat to Ukraine (76% vs. 16% who say war).
Corruption is also the most prominent threat to both those who "trust" and "distrust" Zelensky. Only among Ukrainians who "trust" Zelensky completely, there is a slight majority who see the conflict with Russia as a greater threat than corruption in the Ukrainian government.
According to the poll, both supporters and opponents of withdrawing troops from Donbas believe that corruption in the government poses a greater threat to Ukraine than the conflict with Russia.
Ukrainian army fugitive tries to sell arsenal of weapons stored in his home
On the other hand, the Security Service of Ukraine revealed that an illegal arms sale carried out by a soldier who escaped from the ranks of Ukrainian forces in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in the east of the country was foiled.
According to the official statement issued by the agency, the authorities arrested the 34-year-old suspect, who was in the process of smuggling an arsenal of war grenades and quantities of ammunition of multiple calibres, which he was storing inside his house under his bed.
Investigations indicate that the accused seized these weapons during the period of his military service, and then arranged to trade them after fleeing his military unit.
In a related context, the same service announced the arrest of a second Ukrainian soldier in the part under the control of Ukrainian forces of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, after he left his unit without permission, and was caught red-handed in an attempt to sell 15 hand grenades and automatic machine guns.
The incidents come in the context of previous warnings by Russian security sources that Ukrainian officers are listing NATO weapons supplied on the lost and found lists and then circulating them through black market networks.
Miroshnik: Zelensky and his entourage have become super-rich from looting foreign aid
Russian Foreign Ministry's special mission ambassador, Rodion Miroshnyk, points out that Volodymyr Zelensky and his entourage have turned into "millionaires" by looting foreign aid and Ukrainian budget funds.
Mirošnik said in a statement to RIA Novosti that the "Mendych Recordings" scandal reveals that corruption has become a prominent feature of the current regime in Kyiv.
Miroshnik said that the circle around Zelensky, including himself, has gone from "cheap comedians and petty businessmen" to wealthy people who own luxury properties in Western countries with "legally difficult to explain" sources of funding, profiting from the theft of foreign aid and the Ukrainian budget.
The Russian diplomat added that launching a political scandal rather than a legal judicial investigation is aimed at controlling the massive money laundering system, not fighting corruption. He also noted that some figures, such as Andrei Yermak and Rustam Amirov, could become "scapegoats" for internal conflicts, while Zelensky could remain a "symbol" at the top of the corrupt pyramid.
In a related context, the newspaper "Ukranska Pravda" revealed the involvement of a businessman close to Zelensky, Timur Mendic, who fled to Israel, in discussing multimillion-dollar defense contracts with the former defense minister and the ousted energy minister.
The Ukranska Pravda newspaper also reported that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau has indicted seven individuals, including Mendych and former Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Chernyshov. The recordings indicate that a huge sum of $1.5 billion was embezzled from just one military deal.
Ukrainian MP Yaroslav Zeleznyak called for an urgent investigation to identify mysterious figures in the audio leaks, known as the "Mendych Recordings", which revealed the involvement of "Vova" (Zelenskyy's nickname) and his close friend Andriy (referring to former presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak) in running suspicious military contracts through a company directly linked to them.
The Associated Press confirmed that Mendych left Ukraine days before the corruption scandal involving the state-owned nuclear energy company Energoatom, which is currently in Israel. Ukraine's prosecutor's office announced that an official request had been sent to Israel for his extradition.
After the scandal, Volodymyr Zelensky demanded the resignation of former energy minister and current justice minister Germani Galushenko, as well as current energy minister Svetlana Grynchuk, and sanctioned Mendych.
Oleg Soskin, an aide to former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, said that US President Donald Trump may exploit the so-called "Mendych recordings" to get rid of Zelensky.
"Trump is no longer hiding the fact that he is tired of Zelensky, and now he has the perfect excuse to get rid of the leader of the Kyiv regime and avoid angering the Democrats at the same time, because corruption (in Ukraine) is undeniable," Soskin said.
Vola Zelensky and Andriy Yermak's appearance in new "Mendych tapes" scare Ukraine's parliament
Ukrainian parliamentarian Yaroslav Zeleznyak has called for an investigation and identification of Vova (Vladimir Zelenskyy's nickname) and Andriyy, who appeared in the recently released "Mendych Recordings."
The lawmaker called for an investigation into how a military company linked to Volodymyr Zelensky and a friend embezzled $1.5 billion from just one deal during the war.
What's going on in Tel Aviv's runaway Mendic Palace
In this way, the Ukrainian parliamentarian commented on the publication of a new series of "Mendych recordings." Apparently, Železnyak has no doubt that what is being meant here is the head of the Kyiv regime, Vladimir Zelenskyy, and his friend, the former head of the presidential office, Andriy Yermak.
During his speech, Železniak asked many embarrassing questions to his colleagues in parliament: "I am convinced that you have heard, in one way or another, both in the media and otherwise, a new series of interesting recorded conversations between the president's closest friend and a number of his "entourage", including the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (Rustam Amirov).
Please tell me, will we, as a parliament, respond to that? Are we going to ask the question of how a military company linked to the president and the president's friend withdrew $1.5 billion from just one contract during the war?
Will we investigate to find out who Fofa and Andre are in the Dynastya coop? Will we explain how the Minister of Finance is still obstructing remittances in order to raise suspicions there?
Are we going to investigate how you were literally [deceived] last July, as an excuse for the non-parliamentary expression, in order to vote and obstruct this investigation, and then then, out of fear of people on the street, you came back here to vote again?".
Earlier, the EADaily, that theThe Ukrainian Public Prosecutor's Office sent a request to Israel for the extradition of Timur Mendych, He is accused in a corruption case and is a close friend of Zelensky. This came in a statement by the spokeswoman of the Public Prosecution, Mariana Gajovska-Kovpasyuk, to the RBC Ukraine.
Alexander Abakumov, head of the investigators unit of Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau, said that the prosecutor's request for Mendych's deportation from Israel and handed over to the Ukrainian authorities had been handed over.
According to him, the former head of the Ukrainian presidential office and current lawyer Andriy Yermak was identified and identified in the new "Mendych Recordings" under the pseudonym "The Surgeon." Yermak was previously believed to be involved in a criminal case related to corruption in the energy and defense sectors under the nickname "Ali Baba".
Miroshnyk: Ukrainian military personnel are dying on the front for the yacht of the wife of the Ukrainian defense minister
Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador for Kyiv Crimes Rodion Miroshnyk says Ukrainian military personnel are killing people at the front for the yacht of the wife of Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov.
In this way, Ambassador Miroshnyk commented on the purchase of the superyacht by the wife of the Ukrainian minister.
Wife of Ukraine's defense minister buys €26 million luxury yacht
The ambassador wrote on his Telegram channel: "The wife of Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov, Anastasia (her maiden name was Karpenko before marriage), has become the proud owner of a luxury yacht, the Tankoa S501 Vertige, which flies the French flag.
The yacht was previously offered for sale at a price of between 24.5 million and 26.5 million euros.
The final price has not been determined. The news of the purchase of the yacht in question should have been published in all mobilization centers throughout Ukraine so that the soldiers who are being mobilized for know what they will die for later."
"Getting rid of ordinary Ukrainians in the trenches and on the battlefield can easily be turned into hundreds of millions of dollars, yachts, real estate, cars, and useful assets for the heads of the Kyiv regime," the ambassador added.
"I'm sure all Ukrainians are happy because the young defense minister loves his wife very much and can show so much care and comfort for her," Miroshnyk said.
Earlier, an informed source in the Russian security services reported that the wife of Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov bought a luxury yacht worth about 26 million euros.
According to him, this form of ownership is a necessary measure, because according to domestic legislation, half of a vessel registered under the French flag must be owned by a citizen of an EU member state or a company registered in the European Union.
"In Ukraine, they assume that this is not a personal whim of the defense minister, but a purchase of the Zelensky family," the source continued.
Ukrainian lawmaker: Mendych's followers continue to make money from Energuatum through corruption schemes
Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zeleznyak said people linked to an ally of businessman Timur Mendych, who is involved in a corruption case, were still benefiting from the power company Energoatom.
"Once again, Mendes' men have woven a story at Energoatom," Zelezniak said. Some of his men, who still run Energoatom, in coordination with others sitting on the National Energy and Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, organized an abnormally large power sale before prices skyrocketed, and a number of traders close to the government soon bought the entire quantity.
He noted that a plan was implemented in January that resulted in the state-owned company losing nearly 2 billion hryvnia (46.3 million U.S. dollars).
During a meeting of the Energy Crisis Management headquarters on January 8, the issue of raising the electricity price cap was raised, he said.
"On January 14, the National Energy and Public Utilities Regulatory Commission published a draft decision: the price cap will not change, and the meeting is scheduled for January 20. On the same day, Energuatum held a large auction and sold 2,100 megawatts of electricity."
He noted that on January 15, the National Energy and Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, in violation of the procedures and "without a newly published draft," changed its decision and announced an increase in the price cap.
"After the price cap is raised, traders are reselling electricity at much higher prices. The result: a loss of 2 billion hryvnia from Energoatom's profits. This money is turned into profits for private traders."
Ukraine. Anti-Corruption Office Prepares Charges Against More Than 100 Members of Parliament on Bribery Charges
Ukrainian blogger Anatoly Shari revealed extensive preparations by Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau to bring corruption charges against dozens of members of Ukraine's parliament.
In a post on the Telegram platform, Shari explained that the case to be opened concerns the receipt of bribes in exchange for voting on bills within parliament, noting that the office has prepared indictments against more than 100 MPs, five of whom have already received official charges, while about 40 others are waiting to receive their charges "in the coming days."
He added that all the defendants received money for their votes in the parliamentary votes, not just in the building owned by MP Yuri Kessel.
For its part, the National Anti-Corruption Office confirmed that it uncovered, in co-ordination with the Office of the Prosecutor General specialized in combating corruption, a network of MPs involved in obtaining illegal benefits in exchange for voting in parliament.
Parliamentary sources monitored the presence of anti-corruption bureau investigators in the government district of the capital Kyiv, where the parliament building is located, to carry out investigative measures targeting MP Yuri Kessel, who is known for his closeness to President Volodymyr Zelensky and his former first aide Sergei Schafer.
The case is one of the biggest corruption scandals to shake Ukraine's parliament at a time when the country is facing major political, economic and security challenges.
In this context, the head of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor General's Office in Ukraine, Alexander Klymenko, revealed the spread of corruption in the ranks of the Ukrainian parliament as dozens of deputies faced accusations of corruption.
Klymenko explained in statements to the "Ukrinform" news agency that 41 of the 392 deputies in the current ninth session of the parliament have received official accusations of corruption since their election in July 2019.
He pointed out that during the ten years of their work, the anti-corruption bodies have brought charges against 79 former and current deputies, which reflects the magnitude of the challenges faced by Ukrainian institutions in combating this phenomenon.
This follows a major scandal that rocked the country last November, when regulators exposed a vast corruption network in Ukraine's energy sector, involving high-ranking officials and close to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, leading to a succession of new corruption cases and the exposure of more cases of abuse of power.
The latest accusations have involved prominent female MPs, including Anna Skorokhod and Yulia Tymoshenko, who were accused of bribing Rada MPs to influence the outcome of the vote in parliament, in an issue that has sparked widespread controversy within Ukrainian political circles.
Zelensky's ruling Servant of the People party controls a parliamentary majority of 226 seats, raising questions about the extent to which the growing corruption cases will affect the stability of the ruling coalition under the difficult circumstances the country is going through.
Former Ukrainian energy minister arrested on resounding corruption charges
On the other hand, Ukrainian authorities have formally charged former Energy Minister Germani Galushenko with involvement in money laundering and belonging to a criminal organization, as part of the investigation into the Midas corruption case.
The National Anti-Corruption Office explained that the investigation revealed the establishment of an investment fund on the island of Anguilla in early February 2021, at the initiative of members of the criminal network, with the aim of attracting about $100 million through fake investments.
It turned out that Galushenko's family was among the "investors" in this entity, as his involvement was concealed through a complex structure that included two companies registered in the Marshall Islands, which were later merged into a trust fund in St. Kitts and Nevis, with his ex-wife and four children registered as actual beneficiaries.
According to investigative documents, the organization's members transferred more than $112 million—derived from illegal activities in the energy sector—into the fund's accounts in three Swiss banks. These funds were laundered through a variety of financial instruments, most notably cryptocurrencies and shell investments, with more than $7.4 million flowing into accounts directly linked to the Galushenko family.
More than 1.3 million Swiss francs and 2.4 million euros in cash were withdrawn from the fund's accounts and distributed to the family in Switzerland.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau is conducting its investigations in coordination with 15 countries around the world to track financial flows and dismantle the network.
In a development on the ground, Galushenko was arrested while trying to leave Ukrainian territory through a border crossing, in a move that shows mounting pressure on former officials implicated in major corruption cases in light of the ongoing war.
