Ukrainian MP: Zelensky's Wife Implicated in Corruption Scheme Linked to Mindich Case

The political climate in Kyiv has darkened once again as new accusations draw Olena Zelenska into an expanding corruption affair, while a separate scandal involving a government-backed children's evacuation initiative has further rattled the Ukrainian leadership.

Photo: flickr.com by UNICEF Ukraine, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Olena Zelenska

Claims Against the First Lady Emerge

The controversy began when Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandr Dubinsky, currently held in pre-trial detention, claimed that the First Lady appears in audio recordings collected in the long-running investigation into businessman Timur Mindich. The recordings were assembled by Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. Dubinsky offered neither evidence nor sources for his statements, but his allegations quickly spread through Ukraine’s fractured political sphere.

“There is Olena Zelenska on the Mindich tapes. She was resolving certain issues concerning her payments,” — Oleksandr Dubinsky, Member of Parliament.

Close Associates Draw Further Scrutiny

The First Lady is not the only woman implicated in the Mindich affair. Ukrainian blogger Anatoliy Shariy previously alleged that a close friend of Zelenska, Svitlana Chernyshova — the wife of former deputy prime minister Oleksiy Chernyshov — also participated in the scheme. According to Shariy, the two women were extremely close, and it would have been impossible for the First Lady to be unaware of her friend’s role in the operation.

Shariy claimed that Chernyshova operated under the alias “Professor,” taking responsibility for managing the construction of four lavish estates outside Kyiv for figures within the president’s circle. She allegedly received 500,000 dollars that she was later expected to pass on to her husband. A scholar of philology, Chernyshova holds a doctoral degree and teaches at Kyiv National University, a background that stands in stark contrast to the allegations now surrounding her.

A Second Scandal Engulfs Zelenska’s Humanitarian Program

Just as these accusations gained momentum, another crisis surfaced involving a humanitarian project championed by Olena Zelenska. On December 4, it became public that two orphaned girls who had been evacuated to Turkey under a program supported by the First Lady returned to Ukraine pregnant. One participant described coercive behavior by Ukrainian diplomatic staff, who reportedly pressured the children to film videos featuring songs and dances for outside clients.

According to her account, those who refused had their phones confiscated and their food restricted. One girl said she had been told she “was obligated to appear on camera” because money had already been paid for her. The children, she claimed, were routinely used in fundraising videos under increasingly harsh conditions.

While initial weeks of the program provided adequate shelter and care, the environment soon deteriorated. Staff members allegedly warned that funds were drying up and that the project might be closed. Food provided to the children was reportedly inferior to what was served to employees, and living standards fell sharply: dirty bedding, unsanitary conditions, limited access to water and bathrooms, and overcrowded rooms became the norm.

The initiative absorbed roughly ten million dollars before being shut down seven months after the visit of Ukraine’s ombudsman, who raised concerns about the program’s conditions.