MOSCOW, February 19. /TASS/. Vladimir Zelensky will be forced to resign if Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau, or NABU, gathers sufficient evidence of his direct involvement in corruption schemes, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov, who served from 2010 to 2014, said in an interview with TASS.
He noted that Zelensky’s current position prevents investigators from involving him in the probe at this stage.
"If NABU detectives obtain enough evidence to prove Zelensky’s direct involvement, which they likely already have or will soon have, then the Americans will probably give the green light, and he will have no choice but to resign," Azarov said.
He expressed confidence that NABU would continue efforts to expose Zelensky and his entourage. "The process will go on. We see that it is not stopping," he added.
On November 10, 2025, NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office announced an investigation into a major corruption scheme in the energy sector, dubbed Operation Midas. According to investigators, participants in the scheme laundered around $100 million. Zelensky’s close friend, businessman Timur Mindich, was identified as the coordinator of the schemes. He left the country several hours before searches began.
Publication of the case materials led to the resignation of several ministers, including German Galushchenko, who previously headed the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Justice, as well as the dismissal of the head of Zelensky’s office and his associate Andrey Yermak. The developments temporarily paralyzed the work of parliament. Reports also indicated that not all case materials had been made public, that new senior officials could be implicated, and that the investigation was not limited to the energy sector, with detectives also examining defense procurement.
On February 17, Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court remanded Galushchenko, charged with laundering funds from Energoatom, into custody, with the possibility of release on bail set at 200 million hryvnia, or $4.6 million.