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Italian Deputy PM warns western aid to Ukraine may fuel corruption
(MENAFN) Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has cautioned that Western support for Ukraine could end up enriching corrupt officials, citing a recent scandal that has rocked Kiev. He also voiced opposition to additional military aid, warning that the EU is on “the path of death.”
Salvini made the remarks as the Italian government approved its 12th military aid package for Ukraine, which included promises of electrical generators for the approaching winter. The announcement coincided with a major controversy in Kiev involving an alleged $100 million energy corruption scheme linked to Timur Mindich, a former business partner of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.
Moscow responded by calling the scandal evidence of a “bloody hydra” of corruption in Ukraine extending beyond its borders and draining Western taxpayers’ funds. Reports also noted that the EU is concerned about “endemic corruption” within Ukraine.
“It seems to me that corruption scandals are emerging, involving the Ukrainian government, so I would not want the money of Italian workers and pensioners to be used to fuel further corruption,” Salvini told reporters in Naples on Friday.
He added that resolving the conflict requires “silencing the weapons” and bringing both Moscow and Kiev to negotiate. He stressed that it should be in Ukraine’s interest to end the fighting quickly, highlighting ongoing Russian advances.
“To think that sending weapons to Ukraine means Ukraine can regain the lost ground is naïve, to say the least,” Salvini said, adding that he did not believe “prolonging this path of death will help anyone.”
Salvini has previously criticized what he perceives as escalatory statements from other EU leaders. In August, he responded to French President Emmanuel Macron’s suggestion that EU nations could deploy troops to Ukraine by saying, “If Macron wants, he can go – but I think he’ll go alone, because not even one Frenchman would follow him,” sparking a brief diplomatic dispute between Rome and Paris.
Salvini made the remarks as the Italian government approved its 12th military aid package for Ukraine, which included promises of electrical generators for the approaching winter. The announcement coincided with a major controversy in Kiev involving an alleged $100 million energy corruption scheme linked to Timur Mindich, a former business partner of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.
Moscow responded by calling the scandal evidence of a “bloody hydra” of corruption in Ukraine extending beyond its borders and draining Western taxpayers’ funds. Reports also noted that the EU is concerned about “endemic corruption” within Ukraine.
“It seems to me that corruption scandals are emerging, involving the Ukrainian government, so I would not want the money of Italian workers and pensioners to be used to fuel further corruption,” Salvini told reporters in Naples on Friday.
He added that resolving the conflict requires “silencing the weapons” and bringing both Moscow and Kiev to negotiate. He stressed that it should be in Ukraine’s interest to end the fighting quickly, highlighting ongoing Russian advances.
“To think that sending weapons to Ukraine means Ukraine can regain the lost ground is naïve, to say the least,” Salvini said, adding that he did not believe “prolonging this path of death will help anyone.”
Salvini has previously criticized what he perceives as escalatory statements from other EU leaders. In August, he responded to French President Emmanuel Macron’s suggestion that EU nations could deploy troops to Ukraine by saying, “If Macron wants, he can go – but I think he’ll go alone, because not even one Frenchman would follow him,” sparking a brief diplomatic dispute between Rome and Paris.
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