In an interview with a TIME Magazine reporter, a top presidential adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said there was rampant theft and corruption among Ukraine’s government officials.
The reporter had asked the adviser if he was correct in assuming that bribes or the embezzlement of state funds had either been rooted out or at least become less common since the war. The adviser made the reporter turn off their audio recorder so he could speak freely. He then said, “Simon, you’re mistaken. People are stealing like there’s no tomorrow.”
Even with the firing of Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov followed by six Ukrainian Deputy Defense Ministers, the country’s officials still do not “feel any fear” according to the adviser because the purge took too long occur.
Zelensky was warned that there was high robbery going on in the defense ministry back in February, but by the time he began enforcing the law—just before a visit by American officials—it was “too late” according to another source that talked to TIME. The Western powers were aware of the corruption and the soldiers were already cracking jokes about the corruption. “The reputational damage was done,” the adviser said.
A sitting member of Congress, J. D. Vance (R-OH), commented on the story saying, “Not one more penny to Ukraine.”
I’ve sat in a lot of briefings where I was promised Ukraine doesn’t have a corruption problem.
The Biden admin has lied to us. Not one more penny to Ukraine. https://t.co/JH48L1xZz2
— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) October 30, 2023
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It was revealed in September that American tax dollars were subsidizing seeds, fertilizers, small businesses, and the salaries of first responders in Ukraine. Among the small businesses were knitwear companies, and among the “first responders” included service dogs and the salaries of over 57,000 municipal workers.
When asked about the theft, Zelensky reportedly “acknowledged its gravity” and the way it could threaten the ongoing support of Ukraine’s allies. He assured the TIME reporter that fighting corruption was “among his top priorities.” But Zelensky also blamed foreign allies for possibly exaggerating the extent of the problem, due to the incentive that they could save money. “It’s not right,” Zelensky said, “for them to cover up their failure to help Ukraine by tossing out these accusations.”
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