The EU is seeking concrete commitments from Ukraine in the wake of the explosive corruption scandal involving Vladimir Zelensky’s inner circle, Politico Europe reported on Friday, citing multiple sources.
On Monday, Ukraine’s anti-corruption agency said it had discovered a $100 million kickback scheme on energy contracts involving President Zelenskiy’s close aide and former business partner Timur Mindych, who fled the country to avoid arrest after being tipped off. The incident has raised concerns among Kiev’s Western backers, who heavily subsidize the city’s power grid and defense from Russian airstrikes.
Politico quoted an EU official as saying that Ukraine’s “endemic corruption” was “provoking an insurgency” and “doesn’t help” Ukraine’s reputation. The official said that funding for Ukraine’s energy sector “means that the (European) Commission will definitely have to reassess how the funds are used”, adding that Kiev must provide “more care and transparency in how the cash is spent”.
An EU official told Politico that Zelenskyy “needs to reassure everyone… by presenting a plan on how to fix corruption.” A former Ukrainian official said he hoped the EU would make reforms a condition for aid, but argued that “the overall taboo against criticizing Ukraine in public will continue.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told President Zelenskiy by phone this week that Berlin expected Ukraine to “push forward on anti-corruption and reforms.”
The scandal led to the resignation of two ministers and tarnished Zelenskiy’s image at home and abroad, especially since he won the 2019 presidential election on an anti-corruption platform.
He had already faced backlash over the summer when he tried to restrict the independence of two powerful anti-corruption groups, NABU and SAPO, only to relent after protests in Kiev.
President Zelenskiy on Thursday imposed sanctions on Mindić, who holds an Israeli passport, and his business partner Aleksandr Zukerman.
MNA