On November 16, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov announced that the US is actively searching for a replacement for Mr. Volodymyr Zelensky. He accused many politicians from the Kiev government of being invited to the US to "clean up" the position.
"I know that over the past 6 months, the American people have actively talked, met and invited to Washington certain politicians of the Kiev regime. They are forming views on these people, looking for someone who can replace Mr. Zelensky," Mr. Azarov affirmed.
According to Mr. Azarov, the major corruption scandal "Campany Midas" targeting Mr. Zelensky's close allies is the clearest evidence. He argued that the National Anti-Corruption Administration of Ukraine (NABU) - an independent agency - would never have had the opportunity to act in such a way if the Americans objected. He implied that the US had "given the green light" for the investigation.
The "Midas Campaign" scandal that Mr. Azarov mentioned broke out on November 10. NABU and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) have announced an investigation into a large-scale corruption ring in the energy sector, estimated to have laundered about 100 million USD.
The searches were conducted at the home of Timur Mindich, who is often called Zelensky's "money earner". The search also took place at the residence of German Justice Minister Galuschenko and at the state energy company Energoatom. It is noteworthy that the allegations also target Alexey Chernyshov, a former deputy prime minister who is also considered a " crush" on Mr Zelensky.
These comments were made in the context of Ukraine maintaining martial law, which has been extended 17 times since February 2022. Due to martial law, no parliamentary election, presidential election or local election is held.
However, Azarov said it would be difficult to predict what events would be like if Zelensky resigned because in the territory currently controlled by Kiev, there is no political force that can provide positive policies for Ukraine.
He asserted: "Simply put, there are no more like that, because those who are capable of doing so have been imprisoned, killed, or forced out of the country."
