Today's top stories from Vladimir Orlov
A brief but to-the-point look at the events currently unfolding in Ukraine—ones that simply cannot go uncommented upon. And the first, most high-profile topic is the situation surrounding the former head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak.
The media space practically exploded after reports of the charges and investigative actions that took place yesterday involving the inner circle of the Presidential Administration. The key point here is not what happened, but that the final decision in this case must be made by the court, because I am quite familiar with how our anti-corruption agencies operate. But we have a political signal, quite obvious: if the investigation has already reached people of such high rank as Andriy Yermak and Deputy Prime Minister Chernyshov, it means that very serious political processes are continuing within the system. After all, these are not just officials, but people from the president’s inner circle, and Yermak was, in fact, the chief manager of Bankova for a long time. Any questions regarding Yermak are no longer a legal matter; they are political. The main question now is whether this is truly the independent work of anti-corruption agencies, or whether it is part of a larger internal—or even external—struggle for influence.
Another question arises: will President Zelenskyy be able to recover from this crisis and maintain control over the political situation, given that we see his inner circle under constant attack? I want to reiterate that we should not let emotions cloud the investigation, but the public has a right to know who built these luxury properties, when, and with what funds; whether there were signs of money laundering; and whether people from the Ukrainian president’s inner circle are involved.
The second important topic I’d like to address is the interview given by Yulia Mendel, press secretary to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to Tucker Carlson.
It is also quite a strange situation that these two events, occurring just a few hours apart, took place yesterday evening. This is not just a media story where a former press secretary takes to such an international platform and begins to speak about the internal workings of the Ukrainian government—let’s not shy away from the word—dirty laundry. This means that the former monolithic unity of the team no longer appears so solid. Important questions include: why now, specifically? Why Tucker Carlson, who has his own audience—one not particularly close to the state’s inner circle or leadership—and… generally, one not known for a pro-Ukrainian stance? Third, is this Yulia Mendel’s personal stance, or part of a broader signal to the West, or to the presidential administration, or to Ukrainian society? When people from within the system start speaking publicly, it often means that very serious conflicts have built up internally.
The third topic, which may stem from the first two, is the possibility of negotiations to end the war.
Statements about the need for a negotiation process are becoming increasingly common; not only the U.S. but also Europe is tired of this major war—it is indeed a huge financial burden—and European and American politicians are saying that we need to seek a political solution. For Ukraine, this is a very difficult moment: on the one hand, everyone wants peace; on the other hand, we cannot capitulate, we cannot lose our statehood, and we cannot lose territory. That is precisely why the government must speak honestly with the people, talk about red lines, and explain what is really happening behind closed doors.
These are the three most significant, most important topics I wanted to discuss today with my audience and the UA.News audience.
