On 20/11, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto referred to the European Commission's proposal from July for 100 billion euros in support for Ukraine for the 2028-2034 period.

"One faction is profiting from the war, a corrupt system is operating in Ukraine, yet the President of the European Commission wants to send another 100 billion euros to Ukraine, instead of stopping the money transfers and demanding urgent financial transparency. That's insane," he stated before a meeting with European Union partners in Belgium.

Hungarian foreign minister speaking in Moscow, Russia on 15/10. *Photo: Reuters*

Foreign Minister Szijjarto assessed that the situation in Ukraine in the coming period is not positive, emphasizing Hungary's support for peace initiatives proposed by US President Donald Trump. "Time is not on Ukraine's side. It's an illusion to think that time is on their side," he said.

After about 15 months of gathering information, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) earlier this week launched a large-scale investigation, targeting a high-level criminal organization within the nuclear power generation company Energoatom. This network is accused of corruption and money laundering of approximately 100 million USD.

NABU stated that this network involves many Ukrainian officials and is led by businessman Timur Mindich. Mindich previously had close ties to President Volodymir Zelensky and fled abroad just before authorities searched his residence on 10/11.

The scandal is a strong blow to the reputation of Ukraine's president, because Volodymir Zelensky was elected in 2019 on a pledge to crack down aggressively on corruption, but has allowed this situation to reappear within his own administration.

Hong Hanh (According to Reuters)