Ukraine’s biggest corruption erupts: Zelensky man refuses to return from US amid dirty arms deal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is facing his most intense political crisis yet as explosive new allegations place a close ally, Timur Mindich, at the heart of a $100 million corruption firestorm. Anti-corruption watchdog NABU claims Mindich pressured former defense minister Rustem Umerov to secure a lucrative arms contract—reportedly attempting to coerce him with “one phone call” over a controversial bulletproof vests deal. Mindich, already at the center of Ukraine’s massive Energoatom energy graft scandal, has allegedly fled to Poland and refused to return from the US, leaving Ukraine mired in leadership turmoil as winter approaches.