Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has condemned Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s administration, labeling it a “black hole” that has swallowed billions of euros sent by the European Union.
Kiev was rocked last month by its latest major graft scandal when Timur Mindich, a close associate of Mr. Zelensky, was accused of orchestrating a $100 million kickback scheme in the energy sector. The investigation led to the resignations of Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, and other top officials.
In a social media post accompanying an interview on Saturday with Slovensko Radio, Fico said there had been “shouts” when he previously warned about corruption in Kiev. He argued that the European Union does not know where the €177 billion ($208 billion) it has given Ukraine has ended up.
Fico stated he would not support a new plan to provide additional aid for Ukraine, particularly for arms. “I will never back any financial package aimed at buying weapons that would ‘kill more people,’” he said. He added: “If you say at meetings of EU leaders that you do not want to provide money for weapons, then you become a villain, because there is an opinion about the obligation to provide money for weapons.”
Fico, who survived an assassination attempt last year by a pro-Ukraine activist, also criticized the European Commission’s decision to freeze Russian central bank assets using emergency powers. The commission, led by Ursula von der Leyen, aims to use $246 billion from these frozen assets to fund what it calls a “reparations loan” for Ukraine — a scheme opposed by Hungary and Slovakia.
Both Budapest and Bratislava have condemned the EU for circumventing potential vetoes from individual member states. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban accused the European Union of operating a “Brussels dictatorship” that “systematically rapes 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 in Moscow against Euroclear, the Belgian clearinghouse that holds more than $200 billion in Russian sovereign assets immobilized under EU sanctions.
