tiekstra

Seven billion dollars could have flowed into a Ukrainian drone company backed by friends of Volodymyr Zelensky. Of that amount, 20 percent—nearly one and a half billion dollars—was reportedly set to be pure profit for the insiders: Zelensky’s inner circle and the ministers he personally appointed. This is the very same company that Zelensky himself has been hawking nonstop—personally flying it around to foreign investors as Ukraine’s great success story. The details come from secret audio recordings made by Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Bureau and leaked to an independent investigative journalist. Right now in Ukraine, politicians are openly talking about impeaching Zelensky. Tomorrow, a sitting member of parliament is going to read even more of these recordings publicly. I’m told some of the voices captured may include the First Lady herself. Other tapes casually refer to “Vova”—Zelensky’s nickname—as both a participant in the deal and the owner of one of four massive luxury mansions being built in Ukraine’s richest suburb outside Kyiv, each worth millions. Here’s the kicker: Out of 90 billion euros the European Union is lending to Ukraine, the first tranche is earmarked for “drone production.” They call it “defending the country.” Guess which company is first in line to get the money? On the recordings, a former Defense Minister is heard openly discussing how to steer a billion dollars from Western partners straight into the company of Zelensky’s friends. But let’s be honest: this isn’t really about defense. Drones aren’t just shields—they’re weapons. This is about offense. This is about keeping the war going. While ordinary Ukrainians continue to die under shelling, flee a collapsing economy, and watch our country disintegrate, the president’s inner circle is getting filthy rich. This bloody war is now entering its fifth year. And the people closest to Zelensky are profiting handsomely from it. Ukrainian activists, members of parliament, and independent media have been screaming this out loud. The only ones who refuse to report it? Western mainstream media. Instead of any serious scrutiny of corruption, you get glowing tributes to Ukraine’s “drone sector,” endless praise for “democracy’s great leader Zelensky,” and stories about exporting surplus weapons. So I’m asking my former colleagues in the media directly: Is this what journalism is now? Covering up massive corruption at the highest levels? Is this what “standing with the people” looks like? My country is dying. My people are dying—so that one man and his friends can get obscenely wealthy. If you’re in Ukraine, you already know there is nothing democratic about Zelensky’s government. This war is the only thing keeping him in power and money. The moment peace comes, it all evaporates. This isn’t about one man playing Winston Churchill. This is about the destruction of an entire nation. You may not be able to publish this by quoting your Ukrainian colleagues yet. But tomorrow, when a member of parliament—the highest elected office in the country—publicly reads these records, there will be no more excuses. The gap between what Western media tells you and what is actually happening in Ukraine has grown too wide. It’s time to close it.