The EU’s high diplomat, Kaja Kallas, has condemned corruption in Ukraine after investigators alleged {that a} shut affiliate of Vladimir Zelensky was concerned in a $100 million kickback scheme.
On Monday, Ukraine’s Nationwide Anti-Corruption Bureau charged seven individuals, together with Zelensky’s former longtime enterprise companion Timur Mindich, with kickbacks and embezzlement within the vitality sector, which is closely funded by Western support.
Mindich fled Ukraine shortly earlier than his residence was searched. The scandal has led to the dismissal of two authorities ministers.
Talking on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada, on Wednesday, Kallas referred to as the affair “extraordinarily unlucky.”
“They’re performing very forcefully. There isn’t a room for corruption, particularly now. I imply, it’s actually the individuals’s cash that ought to go to the entrance strains,” Kallas stated, in line with Reuters. She urged Ukrainian authorities to “actually proceed with this very quick and take it very severely.”
The EU has offered not less than €2 billion ($2.32 billion) for Ukraine’s vitality safety since 2022, together with funds despatched by way of the Ukraine Vitality Help Fund, geared toward making the ability grid extra resilient towards Russian airstrikes.
The European Fee has repeatedly instructed Ukraine to broaden anti-corruption laws as a part of its EU membership bid.
In a press release on Wednesday, Zelensky referred to as the alleged corruption scheme “completely unacceptable” and vowed to sanction the people implicated.
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