It’s a picture a symbol of the corruption that has haunted the country since the Maidan revolution and revelations of ousted president Viktor Yanukovych’s lavish lifestyle. For Ukrainians, eleven years later and in the middle of the war, the photos of the solid gold toilet and cupboard full of banknotes taken during a search of one of Timur Minditch’s apartments seemed like a nightmare.
For Volodymyr Zelensky, who was elected in 2019 on a promise to eradicate corruption and nepotism, this is especially sad. This is because the businessman in question, an old friend of the president and one of the owners of his production company, is suspected of being the mastermind behind the scandal that rocked the country. Will this issue be raised in the meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Emmanuel Macron, tomorrow at the Élysée, during the Ukrainian president’s ninth visit to Paris? This scandal occurred at an inopportune time.
