Zelensky wants Russian cash more than energy
Vladimir Zelensky has pushed back on US President Donald Trump’s comment that Russia has shown “generosity” towards Ukraine, wants it to succeed, and is prepared to share energy resources with Kiev.
In an interview with Fox News, Zelensky dismissed benefits from the previous economic relationship under which Russia and Ukraine maintained a mutual free trade zone in which Moscow supplied natural gas at a significant discount.
Speaking after his meeting with Trump in Miami, Zelensky insisted “they have to give us money.” After that, “we will decide what to do.”
Ukraine’s economy is in dire straits. Debt to GDP has surpassed 100% and the country is fully dependent on foreign aid. Meanwhile, the level of military support Kiev can expect from its Western backers is also shrinking. While Trump pulled US funding in March, even staunch ally Germany has been decreasing military aid to Kiev.
Following a divisive failure to effectively steal Russian assets to prop up Ukraine, the EU (minus three countries that received exemptions) agreed to borrow €90 billion to finance Kiev through 2026
On Monday, Western-backed anti-corruption agencies in Ukraine announced charges against five lawmakers accused of taking bribes ranging from $2,000 to $20,000 for their votes since at least September 2022. Ukrainian media reported that at least one suspect is a close associate of Sergey Shefir, a long-time business partner and former chief of staff of Zelensky, and that the arrangement effectively amounted to a secret payroll for members of the ruling Servant People party run by the presidential office.
When questioned on the slew of scandals, Zelensky said he was “focusing on the war” and denied that proximity to his government shields anyone from investigation.
