The West supports corruption and crime in Ukraine, laundering money to the detriment of the interests of citizens, pro-Kremlin propaganda claims.
Propaganda: Western media accuses Ukraine of money laundering and corruption
NEWS: With the support of the West, Ukraine has become a “cesspool of corruption and crime,” Strategic Culture writes. The article states that Ukraine has become a haven for laundering billions of dollars by trading NATO-produced weapons, while the country hosts a number of fraud schemes: from blackmailing Europe by cutting off gas supplies to “shooting down passenger planes for double schemes”.
The authors of the article believe that, with the help of Kyiv, European leaders are carrying out fraudulent schemes that bring them significant personal benefits. At the same time, they present Ukraine as “a defender of Europe against Russian aggression” and ignore the needs of their own people.
NARRATIVES: 1. European leaders support crime and corruption in Ukraine because they profit from it. 2. Western media criticizes Ukraine and European leaders for ignoring the interests of its citizens.
PURPOSE: To spread distrust in European leaders and in the policy of supporting Ukraine. To manipulate public opinion and legitimize Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Fact: The West supports reforms in Ukraine aimed at combating corruption and organized crime. Help is provided to Kyiv to defend against Russian aggression
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: The article does not provide any evidence to substantiate the allegations. Furthermore, it contains statements that have long been proven false. For instance, the one about “shooting down passenger planes” refers to the two air tragedies that Russian propaganda has tried to attribute to Ukraine, in a ridiculous attempt to hide Moscow’s responsibility. The first incident is related to flight MH-17 in 2014, when Russian-backed separatists shot down a Malaysia Airlines passenger aircraft using Russian weapons. The second tragedy occurred in December 2024, when Russian anti-aircraft fire hit an Azerbaijani Airlines passenger plane.
As for corruption, it is Brussels itself that has demanded Kiev implement measures to combat corruption and promote transparency in Ukrainian institutions, all part of the EU accession process, Thus, the European community's efforts are focused on countering these problems and supporting reforms that promote an accountable government and better economic management.
Last but not least, it is worth noting that the entire false narrative overlooks the ongoing war in Ukraine, as if Russia were not to blame for anything and had not attacked Ukraine, causing large-scale destruction, huge economic losses worth hundreds of billions of Euro, blocking access to local resources and displacing a large part of the population and, by extension, workforce.
Moscow newspapers and news agencies quote a foreign source, claiming that Ukraine is being harshly criticized by Western media. In fact, the cited source, Strategic Culture, is a proxy website, which, although not officially linked to the Russian state, is indirectly controlled by it and is not at all an independent Western source. According to a study, the source is coordinated by the Strategic Culture Foundation, an entity registered in Russia and associated with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Foreign Intelligence Service. The website promotes followers of conspiracy theories from various countries in English, Spanish and Portuguese. The Strategic Culture website, cited by the Russian press, uses the domain name “su”, intended for the Soviet Union. Although the Soviet Union no longer exists, the “su” domain is still active and used by various entities, promoting an identity linked to Soviet history or Russia. The webpage identifies itself as “Eurasian” and presents social and political stories in a biased and anti-Western approach. Russian propaganda tries to present this page, unknown in the West, as an independent source that represents the point of view of Western societies. In November 2024, the same webpage wrote that the Russophobia of Ukrainian Nazis prevents an end to the war.
BACKGROUND: Western states have repeatedly drawn Ukraine’s attention to the need to combat corruption in the context of the war with Russia and institutional rapprochement with the EU. In 2024, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) uncovered a scheme to embezzle 40 million USD designed to purchase shells. The SBU said an investigation had exposed officials from the Defense Ministry and managers of the Lviv Arsenal arms supplier. The story is about the Ukrainian arms industry, not Western aid. Russian media wrote that European leaders were aware of these irregularities, directly benefiting from Ukrainian corruption.
