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MOSCOW — Following

the cast of characters in the

impeachment inquiry of

President Trump is daunt-

ing, particularly when try-

ing to figure out who’s who

on the Ukrainian side. To

help make things easier,

here’s a snapshot guide to

the main players.

Volodymyr Zelensky

President of Ukraine.

Zelensky won a landslide

presidential election in

April with 73% of the vote,

defeating incumbent Petro

Poroshenko. A political

novice, Zelensky is a former

comedian. He starred in

“Servant of the People,” a

popular television show in

which he played a school-

teacher who unexpectedly

becomes president. He had

been in office just two

months when he received

the now infamous July 25

phone call from Trump that

is at the center of the im-

peachment inquiry.

Andriy Yermak

Top advisor to Zelensky.

Yermak met with Trump’s

private lawyer, Rudolph W.

Giuliani, on several occa-

sions after Zelensky’s elec-

tion in late April. Yermak

said that during the meet-

ings, he became concerned

that the Trump adminis-

tration’s perceptions of

Ukraine were not favorable

or accurate. Yermak’s text

exchanges with Kurt Volker,

the former U.S. special

envoy to Ukraine; Gordon

Sondland, U.S. ambassador

to the European Union; and

acting U.S. Ambassador to

Ukraine William B. Taylor

Jr., in which the advisor

tried to arrange a meeting

between Zelensky and

Trump, were released as

part of the impeachment

inquiry.

Yuri Lutsenko

Ukrainian prosecutor

general from May 2016 to

August 2019. Lutsenko fed

information to Giuliani in

early 2019 that helped fuel

Trump’s conspiracy theo-

ries that former Vice Presi-

dent Joe Biden’s son Hunter

Biden was involved in nefar-

ious dealings with a Ukrain-

ian gas company, as well as

the idea that Ukraine had

colluded with Democrats in

the 2016 U.S. presidential

election. Lutsenko’s ani-

mosity toward former U.S.

Ambassador Marie

Yovanovitch was also

shared with Giuliani and

appeared to stem from her

criticism of his office’s lack

of progress fighting corrup-

tion. His comments about

Yovanovitch may have

contributed to Trump’s

decision to recall the di-

plomat. In the July 25 call,

Trump appeared to praise

Lutsenko, saying he was

“very good” but was “shut

down” by “bad people.” A

close ally of former Presi-

dent Petro Poroshenko,

Lutsenko was fired by Ze-

lensky shortly after the

newly elected president

took office. In early October,

Ukraine opened an investi-

gation into Lutsenko’s

possible abuse of power.

Viktor Shokin

Ukrainian prosecutor

general from February 2015

to March 2016. Shokin was

seen as lax in the pursuit of

corruption cases, leading to

Joe Biden’s push for his

removal in 2016. That call

was backed by other inter-

national donors to Ukraine.

Shokin filed an affidavit

with an Austrian court in

defense of oligarch Dmytri

Firtash, who is fighting

extradition to the U.S. to

face bribery charges. In the

affidavit, Shokin wrote that

Biden had warned the

Ukrainian government to

keep Firtash out of Ukraine

so the tycoon wouldn’t

further influence the coun-

try’s politics. The affidavit

also stated that Poroshenko

dismissed Shokin because

he was investigating the

Ukrainian gas company

where Hunter Biden was a

member of the board of

directors. However, there is

no evidence that Ukraine

was investigating either of

the Bidens at the time of

Shokin’s dismissal.

Dmytri Firtash

Ukrainian oligarch fight-

ing U.S. extradition charges

in Vienna. A U.S. District

Court indicted Firtash in

2013 on bribery and racket-

eering charges stemming

from allegations that he

paid bribes to Indian offi-

cials in a titanium deal.

Firtash made his fortune

selling Russian and Central

Asian gas to Ukraine. His

business interests include

titanium, metals, chemicals

and media. He financially

backed pro-Russia political

parties in Ukraine, had

business ties with former

Trump campaign chairman

Paul Manafort and claims

that the U.S. charges

against him are politically

motivated.

Lev Parnas

Ukrainian-born Ameri-

can businessman who

worked as a fixer for Giu-

liani in the pursuit of a disin-

formation campaign that

included the idea that it was

Ukraine, not Russia, that

interfered in the 2016 U.S.

presidential election. Par-

nas is one of two Giuliani

associates arrested this

month on charges stem-

ming from alleged efforts to

funnel foreign money into

U.S. elections. Parnas acted

as a translator for Firtash’s

team of American lawyers.

Igor Fruman

Born in Soviet Belarus,

Fruman is a Florida-based

businessman who was

arrested along with Parnas

on charges he invested

foreign money in U.S. politi-

cal campaigns. He is an

associate of Giuliani and

worked with Parnas to try to

broker deals that included a

proposal to bring American

government officials to

Zelensky’s inauguration for

$250,000.

Ihor Kolomoisky

Ukrainian billionaire

who made his fortune in

banking, metals, oil and

mass media. Kolomoisky’s

television channel aired the

popular sitcom starring

Zelensky before he entered

politics early last year. Kolo-

moisky’s close business ties

to Zelensky have raised

alarms for some Western

governments, who fear the

new president’s independ-

ence may be compromised

by the oligarch. So far, there

is no evidence that is true.

Kolomoisky said in an inter-

view with the Ukrainian

Truth news website in May

that Giuliani was trying to

push a conspiracy against

Joe Biden that would em-

broil Ukraine in a U.S. politi-

cal scandal. Kolomoisky’s

comments came after he

said Giuliani’s associates,

Parnas and Fruman, “de-

manded” he set up a meet-

ing between Giuliani and

Zelensky. Kolomoisky said

he threw the men out of his

office.

Andriy Bohdan

Zelensky’s chief of staff.

Bohdan has close ties to

Kolomoisky, for whom he

was a personal lawyer.

Mykola Zlochevsky

Ukrainian businessman

and former government

minister behind the Ukrain-

ian gas company Burisma.

Hunter Biden served on

Burisma’s board of direc-

tors, which has been at the

heart of Trump’s allegation

of corruption. Zlochevsky

and Burisma have been the

subjects of various corrup-

tion investigations, but no

formal charges have been

brought. There is no evi-

dence that any investiga-

tions into Hunter Biden’s

affiliation with Burisma or

Zlochevsky have been

opened in Ukraine.

Sergei Leshchenko

Former lawmaker and

investigative journalist. In

2016, Leshchenko revealed

the existence of payments

made to Manafort by a

pro-Russia political party in

Ukraine. Manafort was later

convicted of charges related

to money laundering in part

because of the work he did

in Ukraine. Giuliani accused

Leshchenko of trying to

undermine Trump by col-

luding with the Democrats

in the 2016 U.S. presidential

election, calling the young

lawmaker an “enemy of the

president of the United

States.” Leshchenko was in

consideration for a top

position in the Ukrainian

president’s new adminis-

tration at the time but

subsequently dropped his

application to avoid jeop-

ardizing relations with the

White House.

Ayres is a special

correspondent.

BACK STORY

The key players in Ukraine

A look at who’s who in the U.S. impeachment investigation of Trump

By Sabra Ayres

LEV PARNAS leaves court in New York. He is one of two associates of Trump

aide Rudolph Giuliani arrested on suspicion of violating campaign finance laws.

Timothy A. ClaryAFP/Getty Images

Security forces use tear gas to disperse anti-government protesters in Baghdad, where two rockets were

fired into the fortified Green Zone, killing an Iraqi soldier. The soldier was manning a checkpoint near a

restaurant when one of the rockets hit, landing more than 100 yards from the U.S. Embassy, security offi-

cials said. The Green Zone is home to several Western embassies and Iraqi government offices. Iraq has

been engulfed by deadly anti-government protests that have picked up momentum in recent days. The

country’s human rights commission said 100 people have been killed and more than 5,000 injured since

Friday, when protests over deteriorating living conditions, unemployment and corruption resumed after a

three-week hiatus. Nearly 250 people have been killed this month as security forces crack down on the

protests. Muqtada Sadr, an influential Shiite Muslim cleric, has called on the government to resign.

1,000 WORDS: BAGHDAD

Hadi MizbanAssociated Press

TURMOIL IN IRAQ