Zelensky’s ex-chief of staff named as suspect in money-laundering probe

Andriy Yermak was Ukraine’s lead negotiator in talks with the US and left during the scandal

Two national agencies fighting corruption in Ukraine have named Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s former chief of staff as an official suspect in a major corruption investigation.

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office announced late on Monday that Andriy Yermak is suspected of an alleged 460-million-hryvnia (US$10.5 million) money-laundering scheme.

The announcement coincided with, but was not connected to, the end of a three-day US-brokered ceasefire that decreased the fighting but failed to stop it altogether as Russia’s invasion of its neighbour stretches into its fifth year with no sign of a peace settlement within reach.

Ukraine offered to extend the pause in hostilities, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said. But he reported on Tuesday that Russia launched over 200 drones against Ukraine overnight, striking civilian infrastructure and killing at least one person and wounding another six.

“It is time to strengthen our positions and force Moscow to end the war,” Sybiha said on social media. Russian President Vladimir Putin “must realise that it will only get worse for him”.

Western analysts say Ukraine’s battlefield position has recently improved as it deploys cutting-edge drone technology to hold Russia’s bigger army at bay.

The Russian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday that its air defences intercepted 30 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions on the border with Ukraine.