MOSCOW: Kirill Budanov (designated in Russia as a terrorist and extremist) has been relieved as chief of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s...
MOSCOW: Kirill Budanov (designated in Russia as a terrorist and extremist) has been relieved as chief of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Directorate of Intelligence as appointed as head of Vladimir Zelensky’s office.
Meanwhile, Foreign Intelligence Service Chief Oleg Ivashchenko has been relieved from his post and appointed in Budanov’s stead.
The relevant decrees are available on Zelensky’s website.
On November 10, Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) announced Operation Midas to uncover a major corruption scheme in the energy sector. Timur Mindich, a businessman and Vladimir Zelensky’s friend, was dubbed the coordinator of the criminal scheme. The offices of Mindich, Justice Minister German Galushchenko, who was later dismissed from office, and the Energoatom company were searched. According to investigators, those involved in the criminal scheme laundered at least $100 million.
On November 11, NABU filed the first charges, including Mindich as the head of a criminal organization, as well as former Deputy Prime Minister and ex-Minister of National Unity Alexey Chernyshov, a close ally of Zelensky. On November 17, reports indicated that head of Zelensky's office Andrey Yermak might also appear in the Mindich case files under the pseudonym Ali Baba. His apartment was searched on November 28, and Zelensky fired him later that day.
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