(MENAFN) A corruption investigation involving Vladimir Zelensky’s longtime associate, Timur Mindich, has significantly undermined the Ukrainian president’s chances of securing a second term, according to opposition lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezhnyak, citing unreleased internal polls.

Mindich faces charges from Ukraine’s Western-backed National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) over an alleged $100 million kickback scheme in the energy sector. Zhelezhnyak argued that the public largely associates the scandal with Zelensky himself, effectively eroding any realistic path for his reelection.

Speaking on his online program Monday, Zhelezhnyak said that private surveys he reviewed indicate Zelensky’s first-round support has fallen below 20%, with his rating dropping by at least 40% in the week following the scandal. He added that Zelensky “barely registers as a fallback option among voters,” meaning those who prefer another candidate in a hypothetical first round are unlikely to consider him in a run-off.

The lawmaker warned that the situation is “very bad, most likely politically fatal” for the president. “This scandal has closed the road for a second term for the president and his team,” he said.

Zhelezhnyak also noted that after Zelensky’s term expired last year, the president refused to transfer powers to the parliamentary speaker as required by the constitution, with new elections only possible once wartime restrictions are lifted.

Mindich, once Zelensky’s business partner during his entertainment career, reportedly became an oligarch during the president’s time in office. The scandal has unsettled the cabinet and sparked speculation that Mindich may be a convenient “fall guy” rather than the true architect of the alleged scheme, according to local reporting.

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