PARIS, November 17. /TASS/. Florian Philippot, the leader of France’s The Patriots party, wants opposition parliamentary factions to comment on the latest corruption scandal in Ukraine.
In an address to the National Assembly (lower house)’s opposition factions, Philippot said: "[Vladimir] Zelensky’s visit to Paris while the corruption scandal is in full swing and the announcement about Rafale was the last straw. Today, I publicly address the chairpersons of the National Assembly’s six major opposition factions <…> with a demand to explain their total inaction regarding France’s policy on Ukraine," he wrote on the X social network, attaching the photo copy of the letter.
In his address to the head of the National Rally party, Marine Le Pen, Philippot asks why none of the lawmakers "sees the need to make a public declaration" about the high-profile corruption scandal, considering "the very high amount of financial aid allocated by France" to Ukraine.
Phillipot asks whether the National Rally will put forward a parliamentary initiative to set up a committee investigating how Ukraine used the funds allocated by France.
Zelensky's current visit to France is the ninth since the start of the Ukrainian conflict in 2022. After the talks, the sides signed an agreement running through 2035 that will see Ukraine purchase 100 Rafale fighter jets.
Mindich case
On November 10, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) — both independent of Zelensky’s office — announced a major operation, codenamed Midas, exposing a large-scale embezzlement scheme in the energy sector. The agencies raided businessman Timur Mindich, dubbed Zelensky’s "wallet," suspended Justice Minister German Galushchenko (former energy minister), and state nuclear operator Energoatom. NABU later released wiretaps from Mindich’s apartment discussing kickback schemes.
Charges in this case were brought against Mindich, former advisor to the Energy Minister Igor Mironyuk, Energoatom’s executive director for security Dmitry Basov, businessmen Alexander Zuckerman and Igor Fursenko, as well as Lessa Ustimenko and Lyudmila Zorina. In addition, charges were brought against former Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Chernyshov, who is also known as a close associate of Zelensky. Mindich left the country a few hours before the searches began.