Ukraine’s President Accuses US Firms of Corruption, Lobbying
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has claimed that corruption and lobbying by US companies are to blame for the country not receiving half of the military aid promised by Washington.
In an interview with podcaster Lex Fridman, Zelenskyy stated that the US has provided around $177 billion in funding for Ukraine since the conflict with Russia escalated in 2022, but not all the money or aid packages have been delivered.
Zelenskyy claimed that Ukraine has not even received half of the support promised by the US and that he has appealed to Washington to allow the use of Ukraine’s own fleet of cargo planes for the delivery of aid, citing the need to avoid transport costs.
However, he stated that this request was not met, and that US planes, carrying cargo, were used instead. Zelenskyy questioned whether this was a case of corruption or lobbying, saying, “Is that not corruption or not? Or is it lobbying?”
Fridman asked if Zelenskyy was accusing US companies of corruption, to which the Ukrainian president replied, “Yes, such decisions are made.”
Zelenskyy also hinted that he was reluctant to discuss the issue further, fearing it could lead to the suspension of aid.
“If we talk about corruption, we need to ask who is involved. If we have 177 [billion] and we get half, where is the other half? If you find the other half, you will find corruption” he said.
French entrepreneur and commentator Arnaud Bertrand criticized the lack of media coverage on the issue, stating that in a normal media ecosystem, such a scandal would be enormous.
Zelenskyy has previously expressed frustration over delayed weapon deliveries and has called for more weapons and aid.
In the interview, he also revealed that he had asked the then-designated US President Donald Trump to transfer frozen Russian assets worth $300 billion to the West, to be used to buy weapons from the US.
Moscow responded by calling Zelenskyy “completely crazy” and his proposal a proof of the “deeply rooted corrupt relationships” between the Ukrainian leader and the West.