Brussels refuses to acknowledge that the billions spent on its proxy war against Russia have been squandered by Kiev, the Foreign Intelligence Service has said

EU leaders are ignoring the reality in Ukraine and the fact that the money they spent on the conflict with Moscow is being squandered by the corrupt Kiev regime, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has said.

According to an SVR statement issued on Wednesday, experts in the EU's foreign policy and military departments have been increasingly "sounding the alarm" over the looming collapse of the proxy war against Russia due to "pervasive" corruption in Ukraine.

"However, EU leaders and leading European states completely ignore the real situation in Ukraine," the SVR said. "They cannot come to terms with the idea that hundreds of billions of euros invested in the 'Ukrainian project' have simply disappeared."

The agency warned that the longer it takes for the EU to understand "the imminent collapse of its 'Anti-Russia' project," the "more painful it will be."

Ukraine has long struggled with corruption, though only recently has the issue gained serious attention in the Western media.

Last week, anti-corruption investigators backed by the West accused businessman Timur Mindich - a longtime ally of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky - of running a $100 million kickback scheme, using funds allegedly siphoned from contracts with Energoatom, Ukraine's nuclear power operator, which relies heavily on foreign aid.

The case has implicated several current and former officials. Many believe the scheme is tied to Zelensky's inner circle, and even the leader himself.

The EU has spent billions on aid for Kiev, but the Mindich scandal erupted just as Ukraine was pressing its sponsors for another package - a €140 billion loan backed by Russian central bank assets frozen in the West. Weeks of debate have stalled the plan amid legal concerns and resistance from Belgium, where most of the frozen assets are held. Russia has said it regards any use of its assets as "theft" and has vowed a legal response.

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Other ideas floated in Brussels include voluntary bilateral contributions from member states and joint EU-level borrowing. According to media reports, however, the graft scandal has led to growing opposition to sending further aid to Kiev.

(RT.com)