Zheleznyak said he does not believe Stefanishyna was the one who told the president about criminal charges being drawn up by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).
“As far as I understand, for a very long time the president and his circle tried to avoid the charges,” he said, adding that they learned of the planned action through their own sources and closely monitored the anti-corruption agencies’ work.
He said that when it became clear the charges could not be avoided, Stefanishyna was told to resign for ostensibly personal reasons.
“It was simply one part of a combination, regardless of whether [former PM Yuliia] Svyrydenko agreed to the post of ambassador to the United States,” Zheleznyak said, adding that, to his knowledge, the former prime minister has not accepted the post.
On July 12, Ukrainian media reported that Stefanishyna had asked to end her diplomatic service for personal reasons. That same day, another opposition MP, Oleksii Honcharenko, said Stefanishyna could be charged by NABU.
On Aug. 3, Zelenskyy dismissed Stefanishyna as ambassador.
On Aug. 5, NABU and SAPO served Stefanishyna with a
notice of suspicion alleging she acquired property through other people acting
on her behalf. Investigators say she failed to declare two one-room apartments;
cash spent on apartment renovations; money used for her mother’s medical
treatment; plane tickets and rent for another apartment; and use of a Mercedes
registered to a subordinate.