Where is Ukraine money going? New report suggests Ukraine is buying Russian oil, and top Ukrainian officials are pocketing the money
A new report claims that hundreds of billions of U.S. aid to Ukraine is being spent on Russian oil to fight the war, and many of Zelensky's entourage are pocketing the money for themselves. The Ukrainians, according to the report, are purchasing fuel from the enemy to keep the war effort going. The revelation comes from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh, who has been accused of relying on anonymous sources. He was also behind the controversial February report claiming that the United States was behind the 2022 Nord Stream Pipeline attack.
The news comes amid recent leaks that have upended the narrative on the progress of the Ukraine war. The leaks contained similar revelations, including that Egypt — a country that has receives around $1.3 billion in annual military aid from the United States — was involved in a plan to supply some 40,000 rockets to Russia. As we reported in Upward this week, this suggests that America has possibly been funding both sides of the conflict and could lead Washington to reconsider its support for the Middle Eastern country.
Additionally, the report suggests that top Ukrainian officials may be “skimming” aid money and pocketing it for themselves. Ukraine has long had issues with government corruption, and by the mid-2010s, was conventionally known as one of the most corrupt states in Europe. While this report should be taken with a grain of salt, it is worth noting that billions of taxpayer dollars in recent American overseas operations and regime change wars have still not been accounted for.