Ukrainian authorities detained officials from the country’s primary anti-corruption body, the NABU, on Monday and carried out numerous searches in an operation that the agency described as excessive, claiming it paralyzed their work. The SBU stated one official was arrested on suspicion of espionage for Russia, while others were accused of ties to a banned political group. However, NABU, which has exposed corruption among high-ranking officials, argued that most cases involved unrelated incidents, such as old traffic violations.
Transparency International criticized the raids, conducted without judicial approval, as an attempt to pressure Ukraine’s anti-corruption efforts. Diplomatic representatives from G7 nations in Kyiv expressed serious concerns and plans to discuss the matter with government officials. Concerns grew after Vitaliy Shabunin, a prominent anti-corruption advocate, faced fraud and draft evasion charges earlier this month. The office of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denies any political influence behind prosecutions.
Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine and Russia will resume peace negotiations in Istanbul on Wednesday, following two earlier inconclusive rounds. He reiterated an offer for direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Meanwhile, Russia aired footage from a facility producing attack drones used against Ukrainian civilian targets. Released by Zvezda, a channel operated by the defense ministry, the video showed workers assembling dark, triangular drones with obscured faces. The plant’s director, Timur Shagivaleev, sanctioned by the U.S., claimed it was the world’s largest and most secretive drone facility, located in Tatarstan. Russia’s Geran drones are modeled after Iranian designs.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot made an unannounced visit to Kyiv while emergency teams cleared debris from a major drone and missile strike on the capital. Six districts were hit, causing fires in a supermarket, multiple homes, and a nursery, with a metro station entrance used as a shelter also damaged. Barrot condemned the attacks as "inhumane and senseless violence with no military justification."
He also visited the Chornobyl nuclear plant, where Ukraine previously accused Russia of damaging the protective structure with an explosive drone. France pledged €10 million for repairs. Barrot accused Russia of deliberately targeting energy infrastructure, disregarding international norms.
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