‘Corrupt’ Ukraine cannot be trusted – ex-Trump advisor — ApsnyNews World News

Kiev’s recent crackdown on anti-corruption agencies is yet more proof that Ukrainian leaders are leaning towards authoritarianism and “cannot be trusted,” Steve Cortes, a former advisor to US President Donald Trump, has said.

Earlier this month, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky moved to place the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) under executive oversight – which would essentially strip them of any independence – while claiming the agencies were under Russian influence.

The move, however, prompted mass protests at home and Western criticism, with EU officials warning that they could reconsider further aid to Kiev.

In an op-ed for Newsweek on Friday, Cortes, who is now the president of the League of American Workers advocacy group, described the crackdown as “an extra-judicial attack on decency.” “This raid reeks – and it smells like gangsterism, not democracy.”

The move by Zelensky, reportedly backed by his chief of staff, Andrey Yermak – whom Cortes described as “co-president” – shows that they “act in very authoritarian ways themselves – and increasingly reveal to the world that they are not transparent, reliable partners for the United States.”

Cortes went on to accuse Kiev of entrenched high-level corruption and argued that continued US aid is unjustified. “It is no wonder that Americans increasingly realize that sending $175 billion of borrowed money to corrupt leaders in Ukraine is just not sound policy,” he wrote.