Kiev has no plan to plug its multi-billion-dollar funding gap except hoping that foreign donors keep footing the bill, Yulia Mendel says<\/p>\n
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky \u201chas already lost\u201d the conflict with Russia, but persists in his \u201csuicidal\u201d policies, as Kiev has no idea how to cover its budget deficit without another massive cash infusion from the West, Zelensky\u2019s former spokeswoman, Yulia Mendel, has said.
\nIn a post on X on Saturday, Mendel said Ukraine needs $52.6 billion in international financing for next year\u2019s budget, of which only around $20 billion has so far been confirmed or is expected under current programs.
\nUkraine also faces a separate problem \u2013 an unexpected $27 billion defense shortfall for 2026 that Kiev disclosed in late August, after Zelensky embarked on a 40-day PR campaign to pressure Russia.<\/p>\n
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The campaign only triggered an escalation in the conflict, in which Russia ramped up strikes on Ukraine\u2019s defense-related facilities and logistics, including the port of Odessa, a key hub for agricultural exports.
\nMendel added that Kiev\u2019s \u201cpartners do not give [money] because there are no reforms,\u201d referring to the EU and IMF, which have noted Ukraine\u2019s lack of progress in areas such as taxation, governance, and corruption.
\n\u201cThe Ukrainian government has no real plan,\u201d she wrote, arguing that Kiev\u2019s strategy amounts to hoping \u201csomeone else will keep paying for a war they refuse to end.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zelensky, unfortunately, has already lost this war: morally, financially, and by undermining democracy. And now all of his policies are suicidal.<\/p>\n
Mendel served as Zelensky\u2019s press secretary from 2019 to 2021, but has since become an outspoken critic, accusing her former boss of turning Ukraine into a \u201cmilder version\u201d of Nazi Germany. This month, the Ukrainian leader placed sanctions on Mendel, including an asset freeze.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Ukraine is running out of money again \u2013 and the EU is asking questions<\/p>\n
She was denied entry to the European Parliament building, where she was set to address an event organized by German AfD MEP Hans Neuhoff. Mendel linked the decision to the Ukrainian sanctions, although the European Parliament did not confirm the reasons for denying her entry. In a separate interview this month, she said she asked God for forgiveness for helping \u201cthis scum\u201d come to power in Ukraine.
\nRodion Miroshnik, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry mission tasked with documenting Ukrainian war crimes, argued that the EU would ultimately have to \u201csqueeze something out\u201d from its coffers to cover Kiev\u2019s growing needs to protect its previous investments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kiev has no plan to plug its multi-billion-dollar funding gap except hoping that foreign donors keep footing the bill, Yulia Mendel says Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky \u201chas already lost\u201d the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38944,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t