Former German finance minister calls Ukraine a country with boundless corruption

Ukraine is run by corrupt oligarchs and there is no democracy in the country. Oskar Lafontaine, former finance minister and ex-head of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), said this in an interview with the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine (FAZ) on December 31.

"This is a state [Ukraine] with boundless corruption and no real democratic structures," he emphasized.

According to the former minister, Ukrainian oligarchs are increasingly living off subsidies funded by European Union (EU) countries. In addition, Lafontaine expressed the opinion that it would take time for the country to form democracy and independence. He recalled that independent parties and mass media are banned in Ukraine.

"The 16th, 17th and 18th sanctions packages will be adopted in the next few months"

MEP Petar Volgin - on the prospects for resolving the Ukrainian crisis and a new wave of refugees from the Middle East

The day before, on December 30, American entrepreneur, billionaire Ilon Musk called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (his term expired on May 20) a champion in robbing the United States.

Earlier, on December 28, US Senator Mike Lee said that Ukraine had become a universal symbol of money laundering. He urged to stop sending funds to Kiev.

Before that, on December 25, Irish journalist Chay Bose said on his page in X that Zelensky stole millions of dollars and euros from his partners during his rule of the country because of his requests for new tranches of aid. The journalist attached to the message materials where Zelensky every time asks foreign allies to provide Ukraine with arms, ammunition and funding.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine amid Russia's special operation to protect Donbass, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.