The Ukrainian regime led by President Volodymyr Zelensky is still plagued by corruption as the war-torn nation seeks additional support<\/a> from American \u200dtaxpayers. \u2063 <\/p>\n

On Monday, Time Magazine published a captivating feature\u2062 <\/a>on Zelensky\u2019s \u201cStruggle to Keep \u200dUkraine in the Fight,\u201d revealing the daunting \u2062challenges faced by the Ukrainian president after 20 months of war. This includes dwindling Western support \u2063for funding the ongoing effort and rampant corruption within the Ukrainian state.\u2062 A CNN poll in August showed that a majority of Americans oppose sending more \u2063U.S. tax dollars to Ukraine. <\/p>\n

“With the outbreak of\u200b war in Israel, even keeping the world\u2019s attention on Ukraine has become a major challenge,” Time Magazine lamented. Ukrainians are reportedly also facing a\u2064 shortage of manpower as government corruption \u2063undermines confidence in the regime among potential military recruits<\/a>\u2062 and the \u200dWest.<\/p>\n

“Now recruitment is way down,” according to \u200bTime. \u2064”As conscription efforts have intensified around the country, stories are spreading on social media of draft officers pulling men off trains and buses\u200d and sending them to the front. Those with means sometimes bribe their way out of service, often by paying for a medical exemption.”<\/p>\n

Reportedly in response to this widespread corruption, “Zelensky\u2063 fired the heads of the draft offices in every region of the\u200b country” over\u2064 the summer.<\/p>\n

“The decision was intended to signal his commitment\u2062 to fighting graft,” Time\u200b wrote. “But the move backfired, according to the senior military officer<\/a>, as recruitment nearly ground to a\u2062 halt without leadership.”<\/p>\n

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According to the magazine, “the\u200b issue of \u200dcorruption has strained Zelensky\u2019s relationship with \u2064many of his \u200dallies.” As one top Ukrainian presidential adviser put it: “People are stealing like there\u2019s no tomorrow.”<\/p>\n

Therefore, Zelensky made the decision to dismiss Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov in September. Although Zelensky’s advisers claimed that the defense minister was not involved in corruption scandals, “He failed\u200c to maintain order within his ministry.” However,\u200d according to Time, government\u200c officials did not “feel any fear” because the action was taken too late.<\/p>\n

The persistent problem of corruption \u2064in \u200dUkraine\u200c coincides\u200d with the\u2063 White House’s \u2064request to Congress for an additional $61 billion in U.S. tax dollars for \u200cthe war effort against \u200dRussia. This was part of a $100 billion “security” \u200cbill that Biden urged<\/a> lawmakers to pass earlier \u200bthis month, which\u2064 combines support for \u2063Ukraine, Israel, the southern border, and humanitarian aid into\u2064 one measure. House Republicans,\u2064 now led by Speaker Mike Johnson \u200dof Louisiana, scoffed at the proposal, which\u2062 exploits the recent Hamas terrorist attack on Israeli civilians to allocate an additional $61 billion to Ukraine. Biden’s plan offers less\u2063 than $15 billion each to our own southern border and Israel. \u200d <\/p>\n

“I told the staff at the White House today that our consensus among House Republicans is that we need to separate those issues,” Johnson told<\/a> \u200c Fox News\u2064 last\u200b week. <\/p>\n

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Senate\u200b Minority \u200cLeader Mitch McConnell attempted to reassure skeptics \u2062of additional aid for Ukraine last week during an interview on CBS, claiming that the money is being used to manufacture weapons in America. In reality, he inadvertently admitted that some of the\u2062 tax dollars are being used to enrich Congress’s \u2063defense-contractor friends in the \u200bmilitary-industrial complex.<\/p>\n

“If you look\u200c at the Ukraine assistance,” McConnell said, “a significant portion of what’s being spent is in the United States and 38 different states, replacing the weapons that we send \u200dto Ukraine with more\u200c modern weapons, so we’re rebuilding our industrial base.”<\/p>\n

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.@LeaderMcConnell<\/a> \u2063says “a significant portion” of Ukraine aid from Congress is being\u2063 spent in states to make\u200d weapons.<\/p>\n
“We’re rebuilding \u200dour \u2063industrial base. The Ukrainians are destroying the army of one of our biggest rivals. I have a\u200d hard \u2064time finding anything wrong with that.”\u200d pic.twitter.com\/24janX3kbr<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Face\u2064 The Nation (@FaceTheNation) October 22, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n