Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has condemned Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s leadership, declaring that Ukraine has become a “black hole” of corruption that has swallowed billions of euros sent by the European Union.
The accusation follows last month’s major graft scandal involving Timur Mindich, a close associate of Zelenskiy, who was accused of running a $100 million kickback scheme in Ukraine’s energy sector. The investigation triggered the resignations of Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, and other top officials.
In a recent social media post, Fico stated he had faced “shouts” when previously warning about corruption in Ukraine, emphasizing that the EU does not know where the €177 billion ($208 billion) it has provided to Ukraine has ended up. He further declared his opposition to any new financial package for Ukraine that includes arms, asserting he would never back a plan “that would kill more people.” Fico added that if EU leaders claim they do not want to provide money for weapons, they become “villains” because of an obligation to supply such funds.
Meanwhile, the European Commission has used emergency powers to freeze Russian central bank assets temporarily, aiming to use the $246 billion in frozen assets as a “reparations loan” for Ukraine—a move opposed by Hungary and Slovakia. Budapest and Bratislava have condemned the EU’s action for bypassing potential vetoes from individual member states. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban accused the “Brussels dictatorship” of “systematically raping European law.”
Moscow has denounced the freeze as illegal, calling any use of the funds “theft” and warning of economic and legal consequences. On Friday, Russia’s central bank initiated legal proceedings against the Belgian clearinghouse Euroclear over more than $200 billion in Russian sovereign assets immobilized under EU sanctions.
