Report: White House Has ‘Deep Mistrust’ of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Even As They Continue to Send Aid

August 3, 2022
The United States sent another $550 million in military aid to Ukraine on Monday, even as reports surfaced that there is a "deep mistrust" between their president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and President Biden.
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The United States sent another $550 million in military aid to Ukraine on Monday, even as reports surfaced that there is a “deep mistrust” between their president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and President Biden.

Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council John Kirby announced the aid as part of an effort to “stand up to Russian aggression” and as a demonstration of “the enduring U.S. support to Ukraine.”

The Biden administration has provided Ukraine with over $8 billion in aid since the start of the invasion while the Senate passed a $40 billion military, economic and humanitarian aid package in May.

The New York Times reported that month that the United States at that point had sent Ukraine over $54 billion total in aid.

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Biden Reportedly Has a Mistrust of Zelenskyy

The Biden administration continues to pour aid into the Ukraine war effort even as officials have leaked to the New York Times that the President has a “deep mistrust” of Zelenskyy.

“The Ukraine war is not over. And privately, U.S. officials are a lot more concerned about Ukraine’s leadership than they are letting on. There is deep mistrust between the White House and Ukraine President Volodymyr [Zelenskyy] — considerably more than has been reported,” columnist Thomas Friedman wrote.

Kirby tamped down the controversy during a press briefing Tuesday.

“The President has spoken many, many times to his admiration for President Zelenskyy’s leadership and courage in this time of war,” he said.

“And that’s why he has remained very committed to continuing to support Ukraine in their fight against Russian aggression.”

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Corruption in Ukraine

Friedman’s column also suggests potential “corruption” in Ukraine and points to Zelenskyy’s firing of Ukraine’s prosecutor general and the leader of its domestic intelligence agency.

“There is funny business going on in Kyiv,” he wrote, though the columnist offers little explanation on why those firings took place.

Zelenskyy had cited instances of their collaboration with Russia.

“It is as if we don’t want to look too closely under the hood in Kyiv for fear of what corruption or antics we might see, when we have invested so much there,” Friedman concludes.

Having a “deep mistrust” of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and openly pondering corruption in the country – It wasn’t all that long ago the media would accuse you of siding with Russia for such acts.

The National Review wondered what’s behind Friedman’s reporting, which marks the second instance of White House officials leaking negative news about Zelenskyy to the New York Times.

They discussed the possibility that the administration is setting Ukraine up to take the fall, “laying the groundwork to argue, ‘we did everything we could to help the Ukrainians defend themselves, but in the end, they were too incompetent, too corrupt, and too beset by infighting.'”

While only speculation, that would seem par for the course with this President. Blame Russia for inflation and gas prices, then blame Ukraine for wasting billions in taxpayer money.

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By Rusty Weiss

Rusty Weiss has been covering politics for over 15 years. His writings have appeared in the Daily Caller, Fox... More about Rusty Weiss

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