Zelensky’s campaign and presidency have been shrouded by concerns about his relationship with oligarch Igor Kolomoisky. Until recently, the tycoon had spent two years in exile, as prosecutors mulled criminal charges over a $5.5 billion hole in Privatbank, which he owned until the government was forced to nationalize it in 2016. Zelensky’s show aired on Kolomoisky’s TV channel, which gave him extensive exposure during the campaign, and the actor has appointed the oligarch’s lawyer as his chief of staff. Kolomoisky has denied funding Zelensky’s campaign.

Western institutions were initially cheered by moves Zelensky’s prime minister has taken to strengthen rule of law and liberalize state structures. That enthusiasm has become dampened in recent months, with Kolomoisky returning to Ukraine, being pictured in the president’s office, and hearing that the government wants a “compromise” over the Privatbank charges. Meanwhile, the home of one of his chief enemies has been raided by police, and her dacha, a country house, was burned down. Kolomoisky denies any connection to the incidents.

Zelensky says he has stood up to at least one tycoon, however. His spokesman says that, when pressured in a phone call with Trump to intervene in an investigation, Zelensky told the US president that his administration has a strict policy of not meddling with law enforcement. The White House document doesn’t capture him expressing that sentiment on July 25.

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