Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies have launched an investigation into several unnamed lawmakers and presidential advisers just hours before a key parliamentary vote today, adding to the pressure on President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Nabu and Sapo agencies did not provide further details, but their announcement came just hours before a vote in parliament on the new defense minister, Yevhen Kamara, appointed after Zelensky dismissed his popular predecessor, Mikhail Fedorov, the British Guardian reports on its website.
Fedorov, whose abrupt dismissal in July sparked a wave of demonstrations in Ukraine, last night called for a wartime presidential election in the most direct political challenge to Zelensky since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022.
Fedorov said Ukraine must "restore a full democratic process even in the midst of a prolonged war," in a video posted online late last night.
"Democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia... Therefore, we must find a legal, safe and realistic mechanism that will allow Ukraine to restore a full democratic process even in the midst of a protracted war," Fedorov said in a speech on YouTube.
Fedorov denounced a "systemic crisis of governance," criticizing government institutions for their slowness, resistance to change, and a culture that "sometimes favors loyalty over efficiency."
He dedicated a large part of his speech to corruption, the consequences of which, as he said, are especially severe in wartime.
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