While the world watches Ukraine fight off Russian aggression, President Volodymyr Zelensky just sabotaged his own country’s anti-corruption system. In response, the European Union hit pause on tens of billions in promised aid.

Let’s be very clear. This is not just about European money. This is about trust, democratic integrity, and whether American tax dollars should continue pouring into a country that is starting to look more like a centralized kleptocracy than a struggling democracy.

On July 23, Zelensky signed a new law, officially known as Bill No. 12414. This law strips independence from two key Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies: the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). These institutions were specifically created to investigate and prosecute high-level corruption without political interference.

By placing both agencies under the control of the Prosecutor General, Zelensky has effectively handed the power to interfere in corruption investigations back to the political class. It’s a move that undermines years of progress and gives politicians the ability to bury investigations into their own activities.

The very next day, the European Union announced it was freezing all macro-financial and investment assistance to Ukraine. That includes money from the Ukraine Facility, a fifty-billion-euro support plan, and the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) program, which totals eighteen billion euros.

So far, only part of the money has been delivered. Ukraine has received 3.7 billion euros out of 12.5 billion under the Ukraine Facility and 8 billion out of the 18 billion promised through ERA.

(Kyiv Post, 2025)

Here is what is now at risk:

The European Union has made its stance clear. If Ukraine does not reverse course and restore independence to its anti-corruption agencies by July 31, the money stays frozen. Zelensky has submitted a new proposal to correct the law, but there is no guarantee it will pass or be implemented in time.

Since 2022, the United States has provided more than 175 billion dollars to Ukraine in military, economic, and humanitarian aid. That is more than we have spent rebuilding entire regions of our own country.

And now, the man we have been told is a heroic defender of democracy is gutting his own accountability systems. Zelensky has always presented himself as the opposite of Vladimir Putin. But when you give yourself control over the prosecutors who are supposed to investigate your government, you are not fighting corruption. You are enabling it.

Veterans should be asking tough questions right now. Why are we funding a government that is backsliding into authoritarian behavior? Why are we writing blank checks while many of our fellow veterans struggle with homelessness, PTSD, and medical care delays?

If Ukraine wants to be treated like an ally, it needs to act like one.

There is a difference between being a wartime leader and being a smart one. Zelensky just made a move that is either incredibly short-sighted or wildly arrogant.

This is not a mistake. This is a calculated power grab. You do not weaken anti-corruption institutions unless you are planning to protect yourself or your allies from investigation.

To do it while still begging for aid from the West is a slap in the face to every taxpayer, soldier, and policymaker who believed in the cause of supporting Ukraine.

This is not leadership. This is political malpractice.

The United States needs to set hard conditions on all future aid to Ukraine. These should include:

We have seen what happens when mission creep, corruption, and blind spending mix. We saw it in Iraq. We saw it in Afghanistan. It always ends the same way. Lives are lost. Billions vanish. And governments fall apart from the inside out.

America cannot afford to ignore the red flags. We need to stop sending money without demanding results.

Zelensky might still be fighting Russian forces. But if he continues to undermine integrity and accountability at home, then he is no longer a reliable ally.