KYIV, Ukraine (AP) 鈥� Two national agencies fighting corruption in Ukraine named President Volodymyr Zelenskyy鈥檚 former chief of staff as an official suspect in a . They said Tuesday that the Ukrainian leader is not under suspicion in the case.
is suspected in an alleged 460-million-hryvnia ($10.5 million) money-laundering scheme, the agencies announced late Monday.
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy met with the CEO of Palantir Technologies, part of Ukraine鈥檚 growing cooperation with the U.S. defense sector, as a three-day U.S.-brokered that but failed to stop it altogether ended Monday.
of its neighbor is now in its fifth year, with no sign of a peace settlement within reach.
Graft investigation embarrasses Zelenskyy
Ukraine鈥檚 National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor鈥檚 Office said in a Telegram announcement that the investigation into Yermak is ongoing.
The move is a step short of formally charging Yermak, who resigned in November. He was the country鈥檚 lead negotiator in talks with the U.S and left during the scandal that brought the biggest threat to Zelenskyy鈥檚 government since Russia鈥檚 full-scale invasion.
The investigation is deeply embarrassing for the Ukrainian leader as he pushes for his country鈥檚 admission , a process that will likely take years. Endemic corruption is one of the obstacles slowing Ukraine鈥檚 admission.
Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council and a key negotiator in U.S. diplomatic peace efforts, has been questioned and is a witness in the case revolving around a luxury real estate development near the capital, prosecutors told a media briefing in Kyiv.
Several other senior officials, including former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Chernyshov, are 鈥渋mplicated鈥� in the case, according to the prosecutors, as is prominent Ukrainian businessman Tymur Mindich.
The graft investigation also involves suspected wrongdoing in Ukraine鈥檚 energy sector, the defense industry, and the procurement of drones and other military equipment, they said.
Yermak was a trusted confidant of Zelenskyy, who resisted persistent pressure to replace him, and a powerful figure in the government. Investigators searched his home in November.
Zelenskyy made no public comment on the anti-graft agencies鈥� announcement, but his press officer, Dmytro Lytvyn, said: 鈥淭he investigation is ongoing, it鈥檚 early to draw conclusions.鈥�
Yermak鈥檚 attorney, Ihor Fomin, called the suspicion notice groundless and denied his client鈥檚 involvement in the alleged laundering of 460 million hryvnias ($10.5 million) through an elite construction project outside Kyiv.
鈥淚n my view, this entire situation has been provoked by public pressure,鈥� Fomin said in an interview with Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne.
A decision on whether to bring formal charges against Yermak could still take months.
Zelenskyy holds talks with CEO of US firm Palantir
Zelenskyy said Tuesday he met in Kyiv with Alex Karp, as part of Ukraine鈥檚 growing cooperation with the U.S. defense sector.
The Ukrainian leader said in a social media post that Ukraine and Palantir 鈥渃an be useful to each other.鈥�
鈥淲e discussed directions of technological development both in the context of combat operations and civilian needs,鈥� Zelenskyy said on the Telegram messaging app.
Palantir Technologies is an artificial intelligence software company that helps global defense agencies. It specializes in software platforms that collate and analyze large volumes of data and has partnered with Ukraine for several years.
AI can help combatants quickly sift and decipher a huge volume of battlefield information, enabling more accurate attacks, among other things.
Ukraine Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said after meeting with Karp that cooperation with the company is giving Ukraine a technological edge in the war.
It has enabled detailed analysis of air attacks, AI solutions for handling large volumes of reconnaissance data, and the integration of technology in the planning of Ukraine鈥檚 deep-strike operations on Russian soil, Fedorov said on Telegram.
Also, Ukraine and Palantir have created a platform for developers to get battlefield data to train AI models, with more than 100 companies currently involved, he said.
Russia launches strikes on Ukraine after relative lull
Ukraine offered to extend the pause in hostilities, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said. But he reported Tuesday that Russia launched over 200 drones against Ukraine overnight, striking civilian infrastructure and killing at least one person and wounding another six.
鈥淚t is time to strengthen our positions and force Moscow to end the war,鈥� Sybiha said on X. Russian President Vladimir Putin 鈥渕ust realize that it will only get worse for him.鈥�
Western analysts and officials say Ukraine鈥檚 battlefield position has recently improved as it deploys to hold Russia鈥檚 bigger army at bay.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who visited the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro regions of Ukraine on Tuesday, said he thinks that 鈥渢he Ukrainians really have momentum鈥� at present.
鈥淩ussia is having a phase of weakness, economically as well as in domestic political terms and on the battlefield,鈥� Pistorius said, according to German news agency dpa.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that its air defenses intercepted 30 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions on the border with Ukraine.
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Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal.
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