BUDAPEST, December 2. /TASS/. Senior analyst at the Center for Fundamental Rights in Budapest Zoltan Koskovics believes that Vladimir Zelensky might never return from his trip to Ireland because of a potential expose by Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU).

"There's a non-trivial chance he never returns to Ukraine," he wrote on his X page.

Koskovics clarified that he was referring to the possibility of a new NABU investigation into Zelensky. The analyst also suggested that British intelligence services might stage an assassination attempt targeting him in order to prolong the conflict in Ukraine.

On November 10, Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies announced an investigation into a major corruption scheme in the energy sector, dubbed Operation Midas. Timur Mindich, a businessman and Zelensky’s friend, turned out to be at the head of the scheme. The investigators claim to have obtained 1,000 hours of audio recordings of conversations in Mindich’s apartment, in which kickbacks were discussed.

The corruption scandal triggered a deep crisis within the Ukrainian government — the work of parliament was blocked, and some deputies, including from the ruling Servant of the People party, demanded office head Andrey Yermak’s resignation. On November 28, Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies conducted searches at Yermak’s apartment and office. Later, Zelensky said Yermak had tendered his resignation and was dismissed.