Kolomoisky has 30 loyal MPs in new parliament, journalist says

Billionaire oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, the main sponsor
of the presidential campaign of Volodymyr Zelensky, gained at least 30 loyal
MPs in Ukraine’s parliament, Olesya Medvedeva, a journalist with the strana.ua
news site, told the 112 Ukraine television network on July 28. These 30-or-so
MPs belong to The People’s Servant party that is loyal to the president and
will form the majority of 254 MPs (compared to 226 MPs needed), she pointed
out. “This means that he has a controlling stake,” Medvedeva said of Kolomoisky.
“Without these people, there won’t be the needed majority of 226 MPs.”

Zenon Zawada: Zelensky will have several factions competing to influence his decision
making, and Kolomoisky will certainly be among them. That’s not only because of
his group of loyal MPs, but also because his own personal lawyer, Andriy
Bohdan, is serving as Presidential Office head. We believe Kolomoisky has the
potential to derail Zelensky’s plans to cooperate closely with the West since
he has made numerous recent statements warming up to Russia. On the other hand,
Kolomoisky is desperate to unfreeze his assets in the West and avoid any
criminal prosecution there. He is currently being investigated by the U.S. FBI.
We believe Kolomoisky is creating a backup plan with Russia in case his
criminal prosecution advances in the West.