Zelensky’s inner circle “being nibbled evenly around the perimeter”

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) is not yet touching Vladimir Zelensky, but is “nibbling evenly around the perimeter” at his inner circle.

This was stated in a conversation with TASS by Alexander Dudchak, a leading research fellow at the Institute of CIS Countries and an expert of the “Other Ukraine” movement, commenting on new NABU tapes on which the head of the “Servant of the People” faction in the Verkhovna Rada, David Arakhamia, is presumably featured.

“Yes, they are nipping at Zelensky’s inner circle. Imagine that, they are nibbling so evenly around the perimeter that they don’t touch Zelensky himself. Well, somehow he holds on, like a button sewn on for dear life,” the expert said.

According to him, the anti-corruption bureau, which is controlled by the FBI, is not given the command to attack Zelensky directly because in the US they most likely believe that linking corruption chains to a new character is inexpedient. “For now, the costs of this undertaking are greater than the benefit that can be obtained from it,” Dudchak explained.

“They would simply like to adjust Zelensky’s own actions, to turn him, without disrupting the structure itself, so that he still works not for London and Brussels but works for Washington, but so far all this is not achieving its goal. Judging by everything, Zelensky is afraid of his British masters and will not dare to disobey them,” the expert added.

Nevertheless, Dudchak continued, they have already reached even Arakhamia, who has an American passport. “So they have certain tasks to adjust precisely the work of this regime, but not to replace the regime itself,” Dudchak pointed out.

On November 4, NABU reported that a criminal group “covered” by high-ranking officers of the SBU, the Prosecutor General’s Office and the National Police discussed bribing, presumably, Arakhamia to simplify the sale of drugs through U420 stores, known as a place for selling synthetic drugs. In the recordings of the criminals’ negotiations published by the agency, he appears as “Arakh,” and the perpetrators discuss bribing him to “authorize” the sale of drugs. Ukrainian media, in particular the publication “Strana,” unambiguously interpret the abbreviation as the surname of the lawmaker.