فضيحة فساد جديدة تلاحق مسؤولين أوكرانيين

New details have emerged regarding a new corruption scandal in Ukraine, as authorities arrested four individuals on charges of receiving bribes related to contracts for drone manufacturing companies, stating that these contracts were signed at extremely inflated prices.

The authorities in Kyiv revealed that among those arrested in the operation that took place yesterday (Saturday) was Olesky Kuznetsov, a parliamentary deputy belonging to the "Servant of the People" party led by President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to the German news agency. The party announced that Kuznetsov's membership has been suspended during the investigation.

The accusations directed by anti-corruption activists target civil servants at the administrative level and members of the National Guard.

For his part, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko announced that the involved regular police officers have been suspended from duty. Reports indicate that the suspects signed contracts to purchase drones at inflated prices and then received bribes amounting to 30%.

Zelensky had previously retracted his endorsement of a significant bill concerning the independence of the country’s anti-corruption office.

In turn, the governor of the Krasnodar region, Veniamin Kondratiev, stated today (Sunday) via Telegram that more than 120 firefighters are attempting to extinguish a fire that broke out in an oil depot in Sochi, Russia, due to an Ukrainian drone attack.

A Russian news agency reported that emergency officials stated a fire broke out in a fuel depot with a capacity of 2,000 cubic meters in the Krasnodar region, which includes Sochi.

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that air defense units destroyed 93 Ukrainian drones overnight, one of which was over the Krasnodar region and 60 over the Black Sea.

The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency "Rosaviatsiya" reported that flight operations were temporarily halted at the city’s airport to ensure air safety. However, it later confirmed the resumption of flights at 02:00 GMT today (Sunday).

Kondratiev stated that the attack that occurred in the Adler area of the city is the latest in a series of Ukrainian strikes on infrastructure within Russia, which Kyiv considers essential to Moscow's war efforts.

It is worth noting that the Krasnodar region, overlooking the Black Sea, is home to the Ilsky oil refinery near the city of Krasnodar, which is among the largest oil refineries in southern Russia and a repeated target of Ukrainian drone attacks.

The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that air defense units destroyed 18 Ukrainian drones over the Voronezh region on the border with Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, called for "the utmost military restraint near nuclear facilities" following an airstrike that occurred near the nuclear power plant in the Zaporizhia region of southeastern Ukraine. Grossi reported that staff at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant stated that a support facility near the main plant was hit by drones and artillery shells on Saturday morning.

He stated in a statement that the IAEA team deployed at the plant heard explosions and saw smoke rising from the area, which is located 1,200 meters from the main plant's perimeter.