Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that a delegation of Ukrainian negotiators traveled to the United States on Saturday (29) with the aim of deepening talks on Washington’s plan to end the war.
“The Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine and the head of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustam Omerov, together with the team, are already on their way to the United States,” Zelensky said in a post on the X website.
Zelensky finds himself particularly vulnerable at this stage of the negotiations, in the face of a corruption scandal that has undermined his government. An investigation fell on Friday (28) Andriy Ermak, the president’s chief of staff and the second most powerful man in the country, specifically responsible for coordinating the Ukrainian position in the dialogues on the peace agreement with Russia proposed by the government of Donald Trump.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NAPO by its local abbreviation) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Public Prosecution Office (SAPO) said in a statement that the court authorized an operation to be conducted at the politician’s home, but did not reveal the content of the investigation. Zelensky announced his departure shortly after, saying it was necessary to preserve “national unity.”
This action may have been related to the major scandal related to the embezzlement of at least US$100 billion (R$530 billion) from the energy sector, which brought down the region’s ministers of justice and justice. Irmak stated that he is cooperating with the investigations.
The two agencies investigating Irmak’s case, which are widely seen as deciding Ukrainian policy alongside the government, were at the center of controversy in June.
Zelensky tried to withdraw their authority to investigate people in high-ranking positions, such as Ermak, leading to the first major street protests against the president since Vladimir Putin invaded his country in February 2022.
Under pressure at home and from allies, who have donated about $1.5 trillion (8 trillion Brazilian reais) to the war effort so far and want to know where the money is going, the president backed away from the proposal.
The moment could not be worse for the Ukrainian – who considers former head of the Armed Forces Valeriy Zalonyi his main candidate to succeed him – when there are elections, as the state of siege prevents elections from taking place despite the end of Zelensky’s term in May last year.