Ukraine’s Zelensky under fire over top appointment

Ukraine’s new president Volodymyr Zelensky is under fire, just days after taking office, for appointing a chief of staff with links to a controversial oligarch.

Zelensky — a former Jewish comedian with no previous political experience — won a landslide victory last month on promises to reboot the political system and purge the influence of powerful oligarchs.

But late Tuesday he issued a decree choosing as his top aide Andriy Bogdan, until now a personal lawyer of tycoon Igor Kolomoisky.

During the presidential campaign Zelensky was forced to bat off accusations he was running as a front for the interests of Kolomoisky, who owns the television channel that broadcasts the performer’s shows.

Kolomoisky was accused by authorities of siphoning $5.5 billion from the country’s largest bank, PrivatBank, before it was nationalized in 2016.

According to reports, the oligarch returned to Ukraine last week after almost two years of self-imposed exile in Switzerland and Israel.

Critics say the appointment of Bogdan is not just politically suspect but also illegal, as he had held government posts under the ousted pro-Russian former president Viktor Yanukovych.

Those who served under Yanukovych are now banned by law from taking certain top positions.

— AFP