Ukraine anti-corruption probe adds pressure on Zelenskyy ahead of parliament vote

Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies have opened an investigation into unnamed lawmakers and presidential advisers, intensifying political pressure on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The move came just hours before parliament was due to vote on a new defence minister. It also landed amid renewed debate over wartime elections and the direction of Ukraine's leadership during Russia's full-scale invasion.

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The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office gave no further details about the probe. According to the report, the announcement came shortly before lawmakers were expected to consider Yevhen Khmara as the next defence minister. That vote follows the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov, whose removal last month triggered protests and has become a focal point in the wider political dispute.

Fedorov used a video address on Tuesday night to call for a wartime presidential election, making the most direct challenge to Zelenskyy since the invasion began in 2022. He said Ukraine needed to restore a full democratic process even during a prolonged war and argued that democracy could not be held hostage by Russia. The remarks underline the tension between maintaining wartime continuity and responding to demands for electoral legitimacy.

The latest developments matter because they combine three pressures on the Ukrainian leadership at once: corruption scrutiny, cabinet change and the question of elections. Ukraine has been governing under the strain of Russia's invasion, and the report says the debate over whether to hold elections continues to divide opinion. A political analyst quoted in the report questioned whether voting would be practical while Russian bombing continues and people's safety cannot be guaranteed.

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The overnight military situation added to the sense of instability. At least four people were reported killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine, including after a drone struck a bus in the southern city of Kherson. Ukraine also sent hundreds of drones towards targets in Russia, while Moscow said it had downed 453 of them.

The combination of battlefield pressure and domestic political dispute has sharpened scrutiny of how Ukraine is being led during the war. What remains unclear is the scope of the anti-corruption investigation and whether it will affect the parliamentary vote on the defence ministry. It is also not clear how far the calls for elections will spread within Ukraine's political system.

The next key developments will be the outcome of the parliamentary vote, any further detail from the anti-corruption agencies and whether the protests around Fedorov's dismissal grow further.

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