Zelenskyy fires a top aide amid a graft probe as Ukraine’s ex-defense minister demands elections

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Iryna Mudra, the deputy head of the Presidential Office, on Wednesday amid a money-laundering investigation. The probe, conducted by Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau, named Mudra as one of several suspects in a case involving the alleged laundering of 150 million hryvnias ($3.4 million) to bail a defendant in a major corruption case last year.

The case, linked to the state-owned nuclear power company, resulted in the resignations of the justice and energy ministers last year. Although Mudra was not directly implicated, the investigation has put Zelenskyy, who has not been named as a suspect in any of the ongoing corruption probes, into another political crisis. Ukraine's recently fired Defense Minister, who had demanded national elections, was not implicated in the graft investigation but has called for fresh polls, despite the ongoing Russian invasion that began over four years ago.

Zelenskyy cannot hold a ballot under wartime laws, according to his own statements. The investigation has implicated a former lawmaker, the chairperson of a state bank's board, the head of the bank's supervisory board, and a deputy head of the Presidential Office, although Mudra is not among the named suspects. Zelenskyy has maintained his stance that a national election is not permissible during wartime.