The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, in a televised interview given to Bloomberg, stated that he has not spoken with businessman Timur Mindici since the beginning of the investigation into the corruption case in the energy sector, reports BBC News.
“The most important thing is that the guilty are convicted. The president of a country at war can’t have friends”, Zelenski declared, quoted by the Babel publication.
According to the Ukrainian president, the case involves “the business environment and some members of the government”.
“Firstly, ministers bear political responsibility, and then, depending on the results of the investigation and the court’s decisions, another form of responsibility”, he said.
Mindici found himself at the center of a corruption scandal; he is co-owner of the company “Kvartal 95”, and the press calls him a friend of Zelenski.
At the same time, in the interview for Bloomberg, the Ukrainian president admitted for the first time the possibility that the Ukrainian army might withdraw from the city of Pokrovsk, in the Donetsk region, where intense battles are taking place, notes the Ukrainian Service of the BBC.
Zelenski acknowledged that the situation in Pokrovsk is “very difficult”. From his statements, it emerged that he would not oppose a withdrawal of Ukrainian forces, but the decision belongs to the commanders on the front.
According to Zelenski, Russia is trying to seize Pokrovsk to convince the US president that Ukraine should completely withdraw from Donbas, to end the war.