{"id":644,"date":"2025-07-29T09:37:31","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T09:37:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/?p=644"},"modified":"2025-08-01T13:48:37","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T13:48:37","slug":"eu-threatens-ukraine-aid-freeze-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/29\/eu-threatens-ukraine-aid-freeze-media\/","title":{"rendered":"EU threatens Ukraine aid freeze \u2013 media"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Brussels has reportedly rejected Vladimir Zelensky\u2019s justification for cracking down on anti-corruption investigators<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Kiev is facing deeper cuts in EU financial support than it has publicly acknowledged, Ukrainian and German media have reported. Brussels reportedly views Ukraine\u2019s crackdown on anti-corruption institutions as an attempt to shield an ally of Vladimir Zelensky.<\/p>\n<p>Last Friday, the European Commission said it would reduce support under the Ukraine Facility program from a \u20ac4.5 billion ($5.2 billion) installment to \u20ac3.05 billion ($3.5 billion), citing Kiev\u2019s failure to meet commitments on anti-corruption reforms.<\/p>\n<p>However, Ukrainskaya Pravda has reported that the program has been de facto frozen, alongside another mechanism, ERA Loans, with a total of $60 billion at stake.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ)\u00a0reported on an EU letter to the Ukrainian government\u00a0which threatened the suspension of aid.\u00a0<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\n        <span><strong>Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<figure>\n            <img src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"RT\" class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/688747cb85f540053e776225.png\"><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/russia\/622081-new-protests-zelensky-crackdown-corruption\/\">New protests erupt against Zelensky\u2019s crackdown on anti-graft agencies (VIDEO)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The Ukrainian government has placed two departments established with Western support to address rampant graft in Ukraine \u2013 the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor\u2019s Office (SAPO) \u2013 under the authority of the country\u2019s prosecutor general.<\/p>\n<p>However, following widespread Western rebukes, Zelensky promised to reverse the decision. Several of Zelensky\u2019s close political supporters, particularly in the Defense Ministry, are in danger of becoming caught in the organization\u2019s crosshairs.<\/p>\n<p>He claimed the move was an effort to eliminate <em>\u201cRussian influence\u201d<\/em>\u00a0in the agencies, but EU experts reportedly found the explanation unconvincing.<\/p>\n<p>According to an internal analysis cited by FAZ and shared with EU embassies in Kiev, the changes were described as <em>\u201cthe largest interference in the affairs of the Ukrainian anti-corruption system since its inception.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The analysis also indicated that the action was likely prompted by NABU\u2019s investigation into former Deputy Prime Minister Aleksey Chernyshov, a close political ally and personal friend of Zelensky. Ukraine\u2019s security service (SBU) allegedly seized case files from NABU investigators, including the lead officer handling the probe, raising concerns about the admissibility of evidence and the integrity of the case.<\/p>\n<p>Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed that Ukrainian bodies were designed not to combat corruption but to give Western governments leverage over Kiev.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Brussels has reportedly rejected Vladimir Zelensky\u2019s justification for cracking down on anti-corruption investigators Kiev is facing deeper cuts in EU [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":648,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=644"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":650,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644\/revisions\/650"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}