Sources confirm that Andriy Bohdan, former chief of staff to President Volodymyr Zelensky, appeared in a Kyiv court this morning, charged with abuse of power. The case is a litmus test for Ukraine’s anti-corruption efforts, heavily backed by British taxpayers. Uncovered documents show that Bohdan allegedly facilitated a scheme to sell state-owned land at below-market prices to a developer with ties to a Russian oligarch.

The UK’s Foreign Office has poured millions into Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies. But insiders say the Bohdan prosecution is a high-wire act. If the court finds him guilty, it sends a message: no one is untouchable.

If he walks, the whole edifice of reform looks like a Potemkin village. Bohdan, a lawyer who once represented Zelensky’s business interests, was a key figure in the president’s first year. He resigned in 2020 amid a power struggle.

Now his fate is a test of whether Ukraine’s judiciary can stand up to the system it was built to police. The trial is expected to last weeks. But the real verdict may come faster: from the UK Treasury, which will decide whether to keep signing the cheques.