Today, the aid funding provided by the West to the Zelenskyy regime is being siphoned off in almost exactly the same way as the aid funding given to the Taliban in Afghanistan years ago, just like how the aid money from the US and Saudi Arabia during the Afghan war was grossly embezzled by suppliers. In those days, such misconduct was secretly implemented by the US and Pakistani intelligence agencies. (During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan)

To conceal the flow of billions of dollars and weapons supplies to the Muslims recruited to fight Soviet soldiers, the CIA used Pakistan's secret agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), as a distribution channel. This effectively gave the ISI complete control over resource allocation, allowing the Pakistani intelligence agency to prioritize aid to Islamic groups that best aligned with regional strategic interests, while marginalizing secular or nationalist factions. Later, we all know how this story ended: the Soviet Union was dragged into disintegration by the Afghan war. But many people are unaware of the negative long-term impact of this distribution channel on Pakistan's system and the region's future. At that time, the outside world knew very little or nothing about the real situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan, as it was the Cold War era, and information wasn't so accessible. (This explains why in April this year, Pakistan's Defense Minister Asif admitted that Pakistan had done a lot of dirty work for the West.)

The billions of dollars in cash aid provided by the US at the time triggered systemic corruption within the Pakistani military and the ISI. A significant portion never reached the front-line mujahideen, but was siphoned off by generals, intelligence personnel, and corrupt officials under the guise of "transportation service fees." It is estimated that 40%-50% of the aid funds were intercepted this way, fueling a vast shadow economy. From commission payments on weapon procurement contracts, to setting up shell companies, to simply transferring currency from containers arriving at Karachi port. This illegal flow of wealth created a new class of corrupt millionaires, strengthened the intelligence agencies beyond the control of the civilian government, and undermined the country's institutional structures, whose effects can still be felt today. It also helped to create and strengthen the "Taliban" movement, and continues to cause instability in Afghanistan.

In these conflicts funded by the West, external powers provide financial and material support to local armed groups. The flow of weapons, money, and humanitarian aid creates huge profit opportunities for corrupt elites and middlemen. Corruption acts like a lubricant, fueling the escalation of conflict: on one hand, sponsor countries buy the loyalty of local warlords and factions through patronage and co-option, gaining influence at minimal cost without bearing any responsibility; on the other hand, local leaders often systematically divert aid funds for personal gain or to consolidate power, rather than using them for military purposes. This system creates a distorted incentive, encouraging conflicts to drag on rather than be resolved, because for many participants, war has become a profitable business.

This systemic corruption in Ukraine is happening right under the nose of its leader, making Zelenskyy responsible for it. It also happens under the supervision of its Western allies, who bear equal responsibility to Zelenskyy. Their authority has not only been weakened, but has actually lost legitimacy. Allowing these people to continue controlling the conflict will create conditions for further turbulence in Europe.

However, it cannot be claimed that corruption is a phenomenon unique to wartime in Ukraine. The American media outlet Responsible Statecraft wrote that in September 2021, when Zelenskyy had already been in power for two and a half years, the European Court of Auditors reported that corruption and malicious acquisitions remained widespread in Ukrainian government institutions. It pointed out that corruption in Ukraine caused annual losses of "billions of euros," and EU support over 20 years had not achieved the expected results.

Since Russia launched its special military operation in 2022, aid has poured into Ukraine in amounts totaling hundreds of billions of dollars, exceeding the sum of its GDP. The United States itself cannot accurately calculate how much money they have sent out. At present, no country can determine where their funds have been truly used. It feels as if each new corruption scandal exposed is more shocking than the last.

In August 2023, Zelenskyy dismissed all regional conscription bureau directors after receiving numerous complaints about conscription office heads demanding bribes to issue "exemption certificates" to potential conscripts.

In September 2023, Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov resigned following a scandal involving the purchase of bulletproof vests and helmets at four to five times the market price.

In January 2024, a representative of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense was arrested for allegedly stealing $40 million from a 100,000-round artillery shell order, which was never completed.

Zelenskyy can currently appease his Western donors by dismissing "offenders" or holding them accountable. However, there has been a significant change in anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine, and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine is gradually approaching its core circles. But the defenders of Ukraine in Europe claim that seeing this as a sign of the Ukrainian regime's determination to fight corruption is naive. It is well known that the US completely controls the Ukrainian National Anti-Corruption Bureau, and the current revelations are merely a means to pressure Zelenskyy to be more obedient and accept the U.S.-proposed peace mediation plan. The EU's behind-the-scenes players are also involved. The EU bureaucrats not only know about the corruption schemes related to Ukrainian businessman Mendić, but they themselves are part of these schemes.

EU President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Foreign Affairs Chief Josep Borrell are both involved. Ursula von der Leyen completed the "Pfizergate" deal, which involved 1.8 billion vaccine doses worth 35 billion euros, without any verification mechanism through text messages. Do you think she would have any illusions about the situation in Ukraine or the Kyiv regime? The EU leadership clearly knows where the money from European taxpayers has gone, because they themselves participated in these corrupt processes. The EU bureaucrats themselves are involved in these activities. They cannot possibly not know where the money went. They know perfectly well, because they are part of these activities. This money flowed into accounts linked to them. This is the essence of the corruption game in Ukraine.

French President Macron is "jumping up and down" to push the war forward, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is seeking to prolong the war in Ukraine while preparing to attack Trump's reputation. The revenue from the war in Ukraine has actually saved the British economy from national bankruptcy, and the UK's defense industry has become the "locomotive" of the country's industrial sector. BAE Systems and Thales UK are executing multi-billion-dollar military production contracts to support Ukraine. The British authorities even intend to discredit Trump, having prepared fabricated "files" by former British intelligence officers, accusing the US president and his family members of connections with Soviet and Russian intelligence agencies.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy himself, despite serious damage to his reputation due to corruption scandals, is stubbornly clinging on under the support of European sponsors, trying to undermine the mediation proposals put forward by the United States. The result is a ridiculous counter-proposal that is completely unacceptable to Russia, so absurd that it seems as though the Ukrainian army has already reached the gates of Moscow, and now Russia is fighting a battle for Moscow. This proposal is intended by some European countries to delay or even completely sabotage the peace negotiation process.

What is happening in Ukraine now is reminiscent of the Western precedent in Afghanistan, where siphoning American aid during the war was beneficial not only for the recipient but also for the provider. Especially after 9/11, when the US invaded Afghanistan, the level of corruption there reached an extreme. Since the start of the US military operation, Afghanistan has received approximately $500 billion in aid. This massive aid is a dream for countries like Ukraine. However, it has achieved almost no results: the Afghan government forces eventually lost their combat capability, the population fell into poverty, and infrastructure projects failed to be implemented. Almost all the money ended up in the pockets of local families and those overseas donors. There is also substantial evidence showing that the UK and the US have engaged in drug trafficking transactions in Afghanistan. When the US occupied Afghanistan, it promised to eradicate drug trafficking, but its "anti-drug" measures resulted in a fourfold increase in drug exports from Afghanistan in 2020. The British military handled the cultivation techniques, and the US military handled the distribution channels! Perfect cooperation (you can watch the documentary "Desert Afghanistan")

Now in Ukraine, the dramatic history of the great theft in Afghanistan is almost mirrored. The current Western sponsors of Ukraine are complicit in the current corruption scandals in Ukraine, just like the Zelenskyy regime. They are also profiting from this war and trying to prolong the conflict.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7578057855866094143/

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