Selenskyjs blinder Fleck

A major corruption probe into a close ally of Volodymyr Zelensky is threatening to tarnish the Ukrainian leader’s standing—and his prospects for victory in the war with Russia, Simon Shuster reports.

Investigators have accused Zelensky’s old friend and business partner, Tymur Mindich, of using his apartment—located in a luxury tower known around Kyiv as the Monster—as the headquarters of a conspiracy to extort and launder about $100 million in bribes from companies in the electricity sector.

“For months, waves of Russian drone and missile attacks have caused devastating blackouts, leaving people in Kyiv and other cities without power for up to 16 hours a day,” Shuster writes. “By squeezing bribes out of the electricity sector, the alleged kickback scheme hindered efforts to protect the power grid.” According to National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine investigators, the scheme made the blackouts worse.

While Zelensky has not been implicated in the investigation, which NABU code-named Operation Midas, “the alleged involvement of his former business partner and several senior government officials has undermined the president’s greatest asset among voters and allies: his image as a leader in the mold of Winston Churchill, a tireless defender of Ukraine and Europe from the forces of Russian tyranny,” Shuster writes. 

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— Jesse Convertino, senior audience, audience and engagement, *The Atlantic*