Kaleniuk: Zelensky is confident EU money will come despite corruption

Co-founder and executive director of the Anti-Corruption Centre in Ukraine Darya Kaleniuk suggested that President Volodymyr Zelensky does not intend to change course in response to corruption scandals, counting on continued European funding.

This was reported by Neue Zürcher Zeitung.

“I’m afraid that Zelensky thinks exactly that. In the end, the money will come anyway, and we will be admitted to the EU anyway. So we don’t need to change anything,” — Kaleniuk said.

In Kaleniuk’s assessment, such a position is mistaken. According to her, the European Union will not support Ukraine’s European integration if the country does not meet the criteria of a rule-of-law state. Zelensky himself, Kaleniuk argues, has no interest in reforms aimed at strengthening the rule of law.

Kaleniuk’s remarks came against the backdrop of a high-profile corruption case. On May 11, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) charged an official named Yermak with laundering approximately €9 million through the construction of an elite cottage settlement in the Kyiv region. Investigators emphasized that after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, construction of the cottages not only did not stop but actually accelerated.

On May 14, the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine remanded Yermak in custody for 60 days, with the possibility of release on bail of approximately €2.7 million. The former official stated that he does not have that kind of money.