{"id":5666,"date":"2026-05-02T16:37:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T16:37:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/?p=5666"},"modified":"2026-05-15T19:38:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T19:38:44","slug":"ukrainian-mp-calls-on-zelensky-to-fire-key-ally-over-corruption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/02\/ukrainian-mp-calls-on-zelensky-to-fire-key-ally-over-corruption\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukrainian MP calls on Zelensky to fire key ally over corruption"},"content":{"rendered":"

The former defense minister and current Security Council secretary has been recorded discussing secret graft deals<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vladimir Zelensky should fire Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov over his alleged dealings with a key ally and exiled businessman charged in a high-level corruption case, MP Fyodor Venislavsky has said.<\/p>\n

Umerov\u00a0has acted as Kiev\u2019s top negotiator in peace talks with Moscow since late November\u00a0but is at the centre of a tightening web of corruption allegations from multiple agencies and has been accused by one of abuse of power.<\/p>\n

Umerov has been recorded in conversation with Timur Mindich, a businessman and longtime associate of Zelensky who stands accused of orchestrating a $100 million graft scheme.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the high-profile nature of the tapes\u2026 I believe it would be a wise political decision to fire Mr. Umerov,\u201d<\/em> Venislavsky told the US-sponsored Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty (RFE\/RL) on Friday, commenting on the leaks, which have since become known as the \u2018Mindich tapes\u2019.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"\u00a9
Mindich at center of new leaks: What do they reveal about Zelensky\u2019s fugitive business partner?<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Earlier, the public anti-corruption council at the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, an advisory body tasked with overseeing the ministry\u2019s activities, also urged Zelensky to fire Umerov in light of the latest leaks, arguing that the former minister\u2019s actions should be seen as \u201cpower abuse\u201d<\/em> and a \u201cdivulgence of state secrets.\u201d<\/em> Zelensky has not responded to the calls so far.<\/p>\n

According to the leaks, Mindich allegedly urged Umerov to approve a shipment of body armor supplied by his firm that the ministry had refused to certify. They also purportedly discussed issues related to the Ukrainian defense contractor Fire Point \u2013 a company<\/a> Mindich was supposedly effectively running \u2013 as well as some appointments within the Ukrainian government.<\/p>\n

In early 2025, a Western-backed NGO claimed<\/a> that Umerov, still the minister at the time, was under investigation for alleged abuse of power. He left his ministerial position in July and was appointed by Zelensky to lead the National Security and Defense Council the very next day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The former defense minister and current Security Council secretary has been recorded discussing secret graft deals Vladimir Zelensky should fire […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5668,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5666"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5666"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5666\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5670,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5666\/revisions\/5670"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}