EU Expands Financial Aid Reductions to Ukraine
(MENAFN) Kiev is encountering more severe reductions in European Union financial aid than previously disclosed, according to reports from Ukrainian and German outlets. Brussels appears to interpret Ukraine’s recent suppression of anti-corruption bodies as an effort to protect a key ally of President Vladimir Zelensky.
Last Friday, the European Commission announced a cut in disbursements from the Ukraine Facility program, slashing the upcoming tranche from €4.5 billion ($5.2 billion) to €3.05 billion ($3.5 billion). This decision was attributed to Kiev’s failure to uphold its commitments to anti-corruption reforms.
Yet, a Ukrainian newspaper revealed that the program has effectively been halted, along with another aid mechanism known as ERA Loans, putting a combined $60 billion in assistance in jeopardy.
On Monday, a German newspaper disclosed the existence of a letter from the EU to Ukrainian officials warning of potential aid suspension.
The Ukrainian government recently transferred control of two key Western-supported anti-corruption agencies—the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO)—to the office of the prosecutor general.
In response to sharp criticism from Western allies, Zelensky vowed to reverse this move. Several of his political allies, especially within the Defense Ministry, are reportedly at risk of becoming targets of these agencies’ investigations.
He defended the decision as a measure to root out “Russian influence” within the organizations, but EU analysts found this rationale unpersuasive.
An internal EU assessment, cited by a German newspaper and circulated among EU embassies in Kiev, described the restructuring as “the largest interference in the affairs of the Ukrainian anti-corruption system since its inception.”
The report suggested the intervention was likely triggered by NABU’s probe into former Deputy Prime Minister Aleksey Chernyshov, a close political confidant and personal friend of Zelensky. It is alleged that Ukraine’s security service (SBU) confiscated case files from NABU, including those handled by the lead investigator, sparking concerns over the legitimacy of evidence and the overall integrity of the investigation.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova asserted that Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions were created not to fight corruption but to serve as instruments for Western governments to exert influence over Kiev.
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