Ukraine Leader Zelensky has his top aide implcated ina corruption scheme that has several of the top government people relieved of duty….
This while Russia is bombing Ukraine cities and Trump is asking the Ukraine to give away the store to Russia ‘s Putin…
Putin insists NO NATO or European troops in Ukraine while Unkrainew troops capture North Korean and now Africa soliders fighting FOR Russia?
There ARE rumors that Trump is pushing Zekensky to give up the Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea to make Puitn happy….Something Zelensky has been strongly against….
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s top aide and closest confidant — who also served as lead negotiator in talks with U.S. officials to reach a peace plan to end Russia’s war — resigned Friday, hours after authorities searched his home and office amid a widening corruption probe.
Andriy Yermak, 54, chief of staff for Zelensky, returned just days ago from Geneva, where he met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other top officials to urge a rewrite of a controversial peace plan the White House was pushing on Ukraine by Thanksgiving, saying Kyiv risked losing all U.S. support.
The external pressure rose as Ukraine’s anti-corruption officials exposed a major scandal involving significant kickbacks from Ukraine’s energy and defense sectors — the two most sensitive areas for the Ukrainian public as the war rages and power cuts leave cities engulfed in darkness for much of each day.
Investigators have not yet said what the reason was for Friday’s search, but the appearance was enough to force Yermak out.
His abrupt resignation marks the most significant shake-up in Zelensky’s office since the war began, signaling both the seriousness of the probe and mounting fears in Ukraine that Washington or Moscow might leverage the scandal at the negotiating table.
U.S. officials are set to return to Kyiv in the coming days to continue talks as President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, flies to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I want there to be no questions about Ukraine from anyone,” Zelensky said in an evening address announcing Yermak’s departure….
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The tipping point came earlier this month, however, as rumors began to swirl that Yermak might be implicated in an ongoing corruption probe that has already roiled Zelensky’s inner circle, prompting Zelensky’s former business partner to flee to Israel and two ministers to resign. A former deputy prime minister who was close to Zelensky was also jailed this month after allegations that he was tied to the kickback scheme….
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Still, Yermak’s departure leaves the wartime leader in a vulnerable position. Zelensky is now seeking a replacement for a top role even as heprepares for more crucial meetings on the U.S. peace plan, where he may have to make difficult decisions regarding the future of Ukraine’s military and territory….
The Daily Guadian Rundown…….
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A Russian drone and missile attack targeted Kyiv in the early hours of Saturday, killing one person and wounding seven, authorities in the Ukrainian capital said. “Enemy drones are over the city, with air defence responding,” Tymur Tkachenko, Kyiv military administration’s head, said on Telegram. “There are multiple targets on the capital’s outskirts.” The fatality was a man and a child was among the injured, he posted later. Loud explosions were heard in the city around midnight. Mayor Vitaly Klitschko warned people to remain in shelters during the attack. Residential buildings in several districts and cars were damaged, he said. Four of the injured had been hospitalised, Klitschko said on Telegram. “The enemy is heavily attacking Kyiv region with missiles and drones,” said Kyiv region’s governor, Mykola Kalashnyk, “Residential areas and people’s homes are under attack.”
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s powerful chief of staff and closest ally, Andriy Yermak, has resigned after Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies conducted searches at his apartment on Friday, reports Dan Sabbagh. The abrupt departure of the aide, who had been leading the latest round of delicate peace negotiations with the US, was announced by the Ukrainian president in a late-afternoon social media video. Zelenskyy praised Yermak but made clear that “there should be no reason to be distracted by anything other than the defence of Ukraine” at a time when Kyiv was dependent on retaining US support in the face of Russian territorial demands. Yermak had submitted his resignation, the president said. The search for a successor would begin on Saturday and the powerful office of the president of Ukraine, which Yermak led, would be “reorganised” as part of the process.
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Ukrainian negotiators will visit the US this weekend for talks on Washington’s plan to end the Ukraine war, a senior official said. The talks may take place in Florida, the source said, speaking anonymously, adding that Yermak was meant to take part in the talks before his dismissal.
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Ukrainian forces are defending their positions and hunting down sabotage groups in the north-eastern city of Kupiansk despite Moscow’s statements that its troops are fully in control of it, Ukraine’s top commander said. “Our soldiers continue to conduct both defensive and search and strike actions,” Oleksandr Syrskyi wrote on Telegram on Friday after visiting the area in Kharkiv region. “These actions take place daily as part of comprehensive measures to stabilise the situation in Kupiansk.” Syrskyi said Ukrainian forces were “holding designated lines and intensifying fire pressure to block the enemy’s supply routes”.
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A daughter of the former South African president Jacob Zuma has resigned as an MP after being accused of tricking 17 South African men into fighting for Russia in Ukraine by telling them they were travelling to Russia to train as bodyguards for the Zumas’ uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party. Rachel Savage reports that Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, 43, volunteered to resign and step back from public roles while cooperating with a police investigation and working to bring the men home, the MK chair said at a press conference in Durban.
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Human Rights Watch will not stop investigating Russia or the actions of its military in Ukraine, despite Moscow declaring it an “undesirable” organisation earlier on Friday, the New York-based group said. It told Agence France-Presse it was “not surprised” by the designation – which effectively criminalises it in Russia and anyone who works with them – and vowed to continue its work remotely. Human Rights Watch has not had a physical presence in Russia since authorities closed its Moscow offices in 2022.
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Blasts rocked two tankers from Russia’s shadow fleet in the Black Sea near Turkey’s Bosphorus strait on Friday, causing fires on the vessels, and rescue operations were launched for those onboard, Turkish authorities and sources said. The Kairos suffered an explosion and caught fire while en route from Egypt to Russia, Turkey’s transport ministry said, while the country’s Maritime Affairs Directorate said the Virat was reportedly struck about 35 nautical miles offshore. Both tankers are on a list of ships subject to sanctions on Russia over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, according to LSEG data….
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The Russian bombing of Kherson…
Kherson was among the first places where Russian forces began using short-range, first-person view, or FPV, drones against civilians. The drones are equipped with livestreaming cameras that let operators see and select their targets in real time. The tactic later spread more than 300 kilometers (185 miles) along the right bank of the Dnipro River, across the Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Mykolaiv regions.
The United Nations’ Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine says the attacks leave little doubt about their intent. In an October report, the commission said that the attacks have repeatedly killed and wounded civilians, destroyed homes and forced thousands to flee, concluding that they amount to the crimes against humanity of murder and forcible transfer.
“We live with the hope that one day this will finally end,” Horlova said, her voice trembling. “What matters for us is a cease-fire, or for the front line to be pushed further away. Then it would be easier for us.”…
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Washingtopn Post story on Ukraine Women drone troops fighting the Russians….
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Daily Kos grunt Report for Today…
@euromaidanpress.bsky.social
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