According to the international watchdog group Transparency International, Ukraine is ranked 116 out of 180 countries as far as corruption is concerned. Fully 23% of public service users paid a bribe of some kind to receive a service.
Ukraine is the second most corrupt country in Europe, according to TI. Only Russia is more crooked. This is of more than just a passing interest to Congress and the American people — at least it should be. The Biden administration has been throwing money toward President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s administration faster than even a First World country with all its social and civic safeguards can handle.
Look at the $5.5 trillion in COVID-19 aid dispensed by the U.S. government since 2020 and the ungodly amount of waste and fraud — at least 10% and probably more. Now ask yourself how much a corrupt country like Ukraine would have walked off with.
The total amount of military, economic, and humanitarian aid to Ukraine is somewhere north of $113 billion. This is the amount appropriated so far. Much more is in the pipeline.
The breakdown, according to the Center For Strategic and International Studies, is “$62.3 billion for the Department of Defense, $46.1 billion for the Department of State and USAID, and $5 billion for other government agencies,” for a total of $113 billion.
Biden is now asking Congress for an additional $23 billion. It’s a fair question to ask where it has all gone. Instead of answering, the Biden administration tries to equate questioning where American tax dollars are going in Ukraine with support for Russia. It’s grossly unfair and only raises more questions from Republicans about the waste, fraud, and stolen funds that are obviously a big problem in Ukraine.
To Ukraine’s credit, it’s trying. Ukraine’s defense minister resigned Monday in the midst of a corruption investigation.
