European Commissioner von der Leyen Clashes With Ukraine’s Zelensky, Warns That Further Financial Aid Depends on Kiev Accelerating ‘Rule of Law Reforms’

At last, Brussels pushes back against Ukraine’s rampant corruption.

After US President Donald J. Trump stopped the draining of American taxpayers’ funds and stopped giving money to Kiev’s war effort, Volodymyr Zelensky had to redirect his constant begging to the Globalist EU leaders and some peripheral countries like Canada.

Needless to say, their European ‘powers’ are all in bad shape financially, but they squeeze their citizens to keep sending money to their proxy war against Russia.

But earlier this month, something changed – take a look at these two NYT headlines below:

The unavoidable fact is that the Kiev regime is riddled with graft, and the anti-corruption agencies NABU and SAPO have arrested, detained, are investigating or has charged many people in the close orbit of Zelensky.

A non-exhaustive list includes Tymur Mindich, Zelensky’s longtime business partner; his right-hand man, Andriy Yermak; former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov; Herman Halushchenko, former Energy and Justice Minister; former Deputy Head of the Office of the President, Iryna Mudra; ambassador to the U.S. Olga Stefanishyna; and even Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.

Read: As Many MSM Outlets Speculate on Zelensky’s Departure, Former Minister Fedorov Becomes Ukrainian Opposition Leader, Says President Should Be Questioned About Rampant Corruption

So, it’s not surprising that even EU Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen may have been taken to the edge by the constant money begging by Kiev.

Several Ukrainian news outlets – no, it’s not Russian propaganda – report on how the meeting between Zelensky and von der Leyen on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly was riddled with ‘tension’.

The New Voice of Ukraine reported:

“Disagreements over funding and the slow pace of legislative reforms in Ukraine’s parliament led to a ‘tense’ meeting in New York between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

[…] The Ukrainian side voiced concern about the prospects of Russian escalation over the winter with limited air defenses to shield their cities.”

Ukraine wanted the EU to help ‘plug’ a $30 billion hole in its budget, and speed up the disbursement of a previously agreed-upon €90 billion loan.

“European Union officials told Ukraine they need to see progress on new legislation to curb the shadow economy, bolster tax revenue, and move closer to EU law before they’ll dispense more funding.

The European Union questioned Ukraine’s calculations regarding the size of its budget deficit, suggesting instead that additional funding be provided by other international partners, specifically Canada, Norway, and Japan.”

The Kiev Independent reported:

“[The EU] funding is tied to conditions agreed with Kiev that directly link disbursements to the carrying out of a range of reforms intended to improve the rule of law and economy, and to prepare Ukraine for eventual EU membership.”

The clash came with the EU pressuring to see continued reforms, while the Ukrainians complained over EU countries’ decision to remove sanctions from two Russian oligarchs.

“Except for a $9 billion contribution from Norway for 2027, no other key allies have stepped in with contributions to bridge the hole in Ukraine’s budget, despite requests from EU and Ukrainian politicians to do so.

And while Ukraine has not formally requested to frontload EU payments scheduled for 2027, already in 2026, Zelensky spoke in favor of that approach.

However, that would mean the EU dropping the timetable of reform requirements, and Brussels is increasingly exasperated with Ukraine’s slow-walking on several key reforms.”

Read more:

Ukrainian Prosecutor General Kravchenko Is Raided by Anti-Corruption Cops, a Safe Filled With Dollars and Euros Is Found in His Office, but He Flees the Country Before Arrest