For the first time in a long while, Zelensky skipped his nightly address amid a corruption scandal involving his inner circle

For the first time in a long while, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did not release his nightly address yesterday.

Many online took note of this, including Oleksiy Honcharenko, an MP from the European Solidarity party.

Recall that the last skipped address was on July 22, amid the President’s Office’s attempts to strip the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) of its powers and the ensuing protests.

What’s happening now is effectively a continuation of that story: NABU has published audio recordings of conversations by businessman Tymur Mindich, who is close to Zelensky and is suspected of extorting money from Energoatom’s partners.

Against the backdrop of the “Mindich tapes” scandal, the Cabinet has already suspended Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko from his duties and also terminated the powers of Energoatom’s supervisory board ahead of schedule.