From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Wallace White

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, resigned Friday after his home was raided in an ongoing corruption probe that threatens to undermine Zelenskyy’s grip on power during wartime.

Ukrainian authorities on Friday raided the home of Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy’s chief of staff and right-hand man, as part of a sweeping corruption probe investigating Zelenskyy’s possible involvement in a $100 million scheme to defraud the nation’s atomic energy company. Yermak’s resignation comes at a time when Zelenskyy is under increasing pressure to accept a U.S.-brokered peace deal to end Ukraine’s war with Russia.

The investigation has shaken Ukrainian confidence in Zelenskyy’s administration while Russian strikes continue to rock critical infrastructure. So far, Russia has not commented on the new proposed peace deal.

Zelenskyy first rose to power on an anti-corruption platform in the 2019 elections, which propelled him into the international spotlight. He has enjoyed a positive global reputation during the three-year war with Russia and has been hailed by numerous Western leaders as a beacon of democracy against autocratic Russia.

Zelenskyy has so far worked with the U.S. on the proposed peace agreement, but has also expressed major reservations about what it will mean for his country. In a public address on November 21, Zelenskyy said the plan puts Ukraine in the position of “either losing its dignity or the risk of losing a key partner.”

Despite the prospect of losing U.S. intelligence sharing and weapons if Ukraine doesn’t accept the deal, Zelenskyy has been shoring up European alliances and international support, most recently signing a deal with France to obtain 100 Rafale jets for its air force. The deal also included anti-air equipment, drones and other munitions.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

MxM News

The two West Virginia National Guard members critically wounded in Wednesday’s ambush near the Farragut West Metro Station have now been identified as Andrew Wolfe and Sarah Beckstrom — young soldiers who had taken their oaths less than a day before gunfire erupted on a downtown Washington sidewalk.

Wolfe, 22, was identified first after Musselman High School in Inwood released a statement confirming the alumnus was one of the soldiers struck. The school said the community was “deeply saddened” and urged residents to pray for him. Wolfe was rushed into surgery and remains in critical condition.

Support poured in across the Eastern Panhandle throughout the day. Friends shared old photos and messages urging him to “keep fighting.” Wolfe, who lives in Martinsburg, is active in the region’s cornhole community, and the Beltway Baggers — organizers of ACL tournaments in Virginia — posted a photo of him flashing a peace sign while asking members to pray for his recovery. “He was shot today while serving our country,” the group wrote.

Federal officials identified the second Guardsman on Thursday as 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Beckstrom had just taken her oath of enlistment and was barely a day into her service when she was gunned down. She underwent emergency surgery and remains in critical condition.

According to investigators, 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal — an Afghan national admitted to the U.S. following the Kabul evacuation — allegedly stepped from behind a corner and opened fire at close range as the two patrolled under a heightened security directive in the capital. Beckstrom was hit first. Wolfe was shot moments later.

Pirro said both families are at the hospital as doctors fight to keep the soldiers alive. She warned that if either succumbs to their injuries, prosecutors will pursue a first-degree murder charge. “If one of them is to pass — and God forbid that happens — this becomes murder one. That’s it.”

Pirro urged Americans to pray for the wounded Guardsmen. “On a day when families gather together, I ask you to pray for these two young people — that they survive.”