NEW YORK, November 18. /TASS/. The corruption scandal in Ukraine may cost Vladimir Zelensky his post, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) wrote.
According to its information, the corruption charges angered Ukrainians to the point where Zelensky’s reputation is at risk. The newspaper said that the Mindich case tarnished Zelensky's image more than any other anti-corruption investigation since he took office.
The article says that the Ukrainian public is outraged over the fact that their donations for purchases of drones and other equipment could eventually end up in the pockets of the Ukrainian government’s members.
It was also said that Zelensky is facing not only a domestic political threat, but a threat from abroad as well. US officials have questioned how Kiev uses the funds that it obtains from Washington. Some of them even contemplate whether the US should stop providing assistance to Ukraine. On top of that, US President Donald Trump has expressed reluctance to continue arms supplies to Ukraine on many occasions.
On November 10, independent anti-corruption agencies announced a large-scale operation dubbed Midas. Searches were conducted at the home of Timur Mindich, who is often referred to as Zelensky’s "wallet," as well as at the residence of Justice Minister German Galuschenko, who had served as Minister of Energy at the time of the events under investigation, and at the Energoatom company. Charges were filed against several participants in the scheme, including Mindich, former Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Chernyshov, ex-advisor to the Minister of Energy Igor Mironyuk, CEO of Energoatom Dmitry Basov, along with several businessmen and employees of the so-called back-office responsible for money laundering.