Andriy Bohdan, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s former chief of staff, on Sept. 14 swore off ever working with him again.
“I will never return to the President’s Office of Zelensky,” he told journalists. “I’m not going to help him, to cooperate with him. But if there is demand from the Ukrainian people, I’ll use all of my knowledge and opportunities to help the country develop and thrive.”
Bohdan played a key role in Zelensky’s presidential campaign in 2019 and became his most influential ally after his victory. He was Zelensky’s chief of staff from May 2019 until February 2020, but resigned after falling out with the president.
Now Bohdan also faces interrogation by law enforcement officers that he interprets as political pressure.
On Sept. 14, Bohdan was questioned by the State Investigations Bureau about his statements on alleged secret agreements between Ukraine and Russia in a Sept. 10 interview with journalist Dmytro Gordon. In the interview, Bohdan was harshly critical of Zelensky and his current policies.
The President’s Office and the State Investigations Bureau did not respond to requests for comment.
“I haven’t seen this document, but heard it being mentioned by diplomats and intelligence services,” Bohdan said in the interview. “It has 12 or 13 points. All foreign intelligence services believe in it. It’s some kind of plan of action. (Captured) ships in exchange for water supplies to Crimea, prisoners of war in exchange for direct flights (between Ukraine and Russia). Or $3 billion according to a court ruling in exchange for something.”
The State Investigations Bureau said that Bohdan had told investigators the information he revealed was based on media reports and had not provided any additional evidence for it.
Bohdan said that the interrogation was part of a criminal case into 33 mercenaries from Russian military contractor Wagner, both Ukrainian and Russian nationals, arrested in Belarus in July.
The Belarusian government tried to portray the opposition as Kremlin-backed and claimed the mercenaries were preparing provocations following the country’s election. Ukraine requested their extradition due to their participation in the war against Ukrainian troops in the Donbas.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian media published information that Ukrainian intelligence services had been planning to detain the mercenaries during a force majeure airliner stop in Ukraine. But the operation was allegedly foiled by Zelensky and Yermak when the information was leaked beforehand.
The President’s Office denied the accusations. Virtually every agency reportedly involved in the special operation has denied its very existence.
