(MENAFN) Russia has accused Ukraine of operating a sprawling, global corruption network that siphons Western taxpayers’ money, with officials describing it as a “many-headed bloody hydra,” according to Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

In a social media post on Thursday, Zakharova claimed the network extends worldwide, channeling funds from Western governments to elites profiting from the conflict. Her remarks came after Ukraine’s Western-backed National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) launched an investigation into alleged embezzlement at the state nuclear company Energoatom.

Zakharova argued that Ukrainian officials are merely “instruments” in a larger system involving entities such as NATO and the European Commission, with the ultimate beneficiaries situated within Western liberal democracies.

Her statements echoed those of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who earlier called Ukraine’s elite a “wartime mafia network” tied to President Zelensky. Zakharova described Orban’s characterization as “absolutely accurate” and criticized Brussels for framing the issue as ordinary corruption.

Following the revelations, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas emphasized that “there is no room for corruption” in Ukraine and urged prompt action from the country’s authorities.

For years, Western leaders and media have warned that entrenched graft in Ukraine could undermine both foreign aid and the country’s EU membership ambitions. Since 2022, the EU and its member states have provided roughly €177.5 billion ($205.9 billion) in aid while pressing Kiev to strengthen anti-corruption measures.

The current scandal comes months after the Zelensky administration passed a law reducing the independence of NABU and SAPO by transferring authority to the prosecutor general. The move sparked mass protests and criticism from the EU and US, ultimately forcing the government to reverse the changes and restore the agencies’ autonomy.

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