Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy is under fire as he is embroiled in a massive money-laundering scandal in which some of his closest allies reportedly stole $100 million from the energy sector and used it to buy extravagant luxuries such as golden toilets.
“Ukrainians don’t have any motivation to fight now because of enormous human rights violations and also because of this corruption now exposed,” an anonymous Ukrainian official said to Fox News. “People inside the country are already seeing this corruption and this is just part of the corrupt swamp. Zelenskyy is part of the problem.”
The independent National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has conducted their “Operation Midas” investigation, looking into the Energoatom company, and Tymur Mindich soon became a person of interest. Mindich is a close ally of Zelensky, and the two men co-owned the entertainment company Kvartal 95 before Zelensky reinvented himself from a movie actor into a politician.
NABU investigators discovered bags filled with cash and a golden toilet at one of Mindich’s apartments. Former deputy prime minister Oleksiy Chernyshov is also named in the investigation. Chernyshov has served in various roles in the Zelensky administration since 2019. Zelensky claims he supports the ongoing investigation and wants justice to the fraudsters.
“Everyone who put together a corrupt scheme must receive a clear legal response. There must be criminal verdicts. Any effective actions against corruption are very needed. The inevitability of punishment is necessary,” Zelensky said.
However, prior to his friends being implicated in potential corruption, Zelensky sought to bring NABU under his thumb, taking away their independence and operating under his jurisdiction. This prompted widespread anger from the public, causing Zelensky to back off.
The facade is starting to crumble, and President Trump is not likely to be happy about knowing how the billions in military aid is being spent. Expect the spigot of foreign welfare to be cut off sooner, rather than later.
