Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed a senior aide amid a fresh corruption investigation, as pressure mounts on his administration over allegations of widespread corruption and calls for wartime elections.

Iryna Mudra, a deputy chief of staff to the president, was removed from her position by presidential decree on Wednesday, August 19, 2026.

Her dismissal came after Ukrainian media reports that authorities had searched her home as part of an investigation into an alleged money-laundering scheme.

No official reason was given for her removal.

The development comes a day after former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov accused the government of failing to tackle corruption and warned that Ukraine was facing what he described as “a systemic crisis of governance”.

Fedorov also became the first major Ukrainian public figure to publicly call for a presidential election during the ongoing war with Russia.

Zelenskyy has not directly responded to Fedorov’s allegations or his demand for an early election.

Instead, the president thanked Ukraine’s parliament for approving Yevhen Khmara as Fedorov’s replacement.

Fedorov’s removal from office in July sparked the largest street protests in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

In a nine-minute video address released on social media on Tuesday, Fedorov argued that Ukrainians should be allowed to choose their government despite the war.

“Can Russia effectively be given the right to dictate when Ukrainians can choose their government again? I am convinced that the answer is no,” he said.

Presidential elections have been suspended in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

Although Zelenskyy’s five-year term formally expired in spring 2024, elections cannot be held under Ukraine’s wartime legal framework. The prospect of holding an election during the conflict has also been considered impractical and potentially divisive by many Ukrainians.

The latest corruption allegations centre on an investigation by Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau, Nabu.

The agency said it was conducting a special operation targeting what it described as a criminal conspiracy involving high-ranking officials from the president’s office and other individuals.

Nabu released video footage and said those allegedly involved included a deputy head of the president’s office, a serving member of parliament and a former MP, as well as the chief executive and supervisory board head of a state-owned bank.

The individuals were not named.

Nabu said the group was suspected of laundering 150 million hryvnias, equivalent to about £2.5 million, through the state-owned bank.

The money was allegedly used to secure bail in June for former energy minister Herman Haluschenko, who is facing anti-corruption charges.

Haluschenko is a defendant in the high-profile Midas corruption case, which also involves businessman Timur Mindich, a former associate of Zelenskyy and former co-owner of the television production company Kvartal 95, which Zelenskyy co-founded before entering politics.

Mindich is accused of orchestrating a large-scale corruption scheme uncovered in November, in which kickbacks were allegedly demanded from companies seeking contracts to supply Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear power generator, Energoatom.

The scandal has damaged Zelenskyy’s credibility and previously led to the resignation of his then chief aide, Andriy Yermak, after anti-corruption investigators searched his home.

Yermak was later arrested in May on suspicion of money laundering. His lawyer has rejected the allegations as baseless.

Mindich, who fled to Israel, has also denied wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy appeared to maintain his public schedule on Wednesday despite the growing political pressure.

He presented 25 certificates providing housing to decorated veterans and their families and said Ukraine had a responsibility to honour those who had served the country.

“Gratitude is what should accompany respect. It must be an integral part of a normal state, a normal society and normal people,” Zelenskyy said.

His remarks were among his few public comments on a day dominated by the latest corruption allegations and growing calls for political change.