Verkhovna Rada Summons Fedorov Over 'Midas' Corruption Probe

Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, has summoned former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov to a committee meeting on Aug. 31 over the anti-graft agencies’ “Operation Midas” corruption probe.Opposition lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko, who heads the Rada’s Temporary Special Commission, shared the summons in a Tuesday Telegram update, in which it says that Fedorov is required to “provide explanations and testimony within the framework of the investigation of information regarding Operation Midas.”JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.The paper says the committee is tasked with identifying “possible violations of the legislation of Ukraine in the field of defense, anti-corruption legislation of Ukraine, and observance of human rights and freedoms during martial law.”“The commission has a lot of questions for Mr. Mykhailo. We would like to receive answers to them,” Honcharenko wrote.Operation Midas was an investigation publicized in 2025 by the country’s anti-corruption agencies, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).The initial findings implicate businessman Tymur Mindich, a former business associate of President Volodymyr Zelensky, and former ministers in a $100 million kickback scheme involving the country’s atomic energy agency.The probe led to the resignation of two ministers, Herman Haluschenko and his then-deputy Svitlana Hrynchuk. Other Topics of Interest Ukraine: What is Driving the Push for Elections? Reactions in the European press to a call for elections in wartime Ukraine from a popular, abruptly dismissed, defense minister. The case received renewed attention after NABU and SAPO announced a new operation dubbed “Forrest Gump” in August 2026, implicating former and sitting lawmakers, as well as the former deputy head of the Presidential Office, Iryna Mudra, who was sacked soon after the probe went public.NABU and SAPO said Zelensky himself was not part of the Midas probe.What’s Fedorov’s connection?Fedorov served initially as the country’s digital transformation minister since 2019, before becoming the defense minister in January 2026.Fedorov is widely seen as a reformist heading the country’s drive against bureaucracy.He resigned in mid-2026 after a brief six-month stint, following a fallout with former Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky, whom he accused of hindering reforms and sowing divisions.The resignation coincided with a government reshuffle initiated by Zelensky, with his role ultimately taken by Yevhen Khmara, a former special forces commander under the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).In the wake of the developments, Fedorov has been outspoken against Zelensky’s governance, calling for wartime elections, an appeal that receives mixed reactions from Ukrainian society and is rebuffed by Zelensky.Over the weekend, Fedorov also accused the institutions of corruption and argued that systemic corruption involving “hundreds of people” is preventing the country from ending the war from a position of strength. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.