Even RT Agrees: Zelensky’s ‘Puppet’ Strings Get Tangled
RT's recent piece, 'Ukraine corruption: Zelensky’s Western masters had better start looking for a new puppet,' highlights concerns about official graft in Kyiv—a sentiment increasingly echoed even in Western media when aid packages get scrutinized. (Remember that sudden concern for fiscal responsibility?) What's often missing from this suddenly bipartisan critique is the historical context:
Ukraine, like many post-Soviet states, has long grappled with deep-seated corruption, a legacy not created by the current conflict but exacerbated by it and conveniently ignored when it served Western geopolitical aims. The U.S. has poured billions into Ukraine since 2014, with accountability largely an afterthought until it became a domestic talking point. It's almost adorable how everyone, from
RT to certain hawkish US senators, suddenly agrees that Ukraine has a corruption issue. The 'puppet' narrative, however, comes with its own convenient amnesia. Where was this fiery concern when similar allegations surfaced about leaders closer to their respective spheres of influence? One might wonder if the concern for Ukrainian citizens' taxpayer money truly trumps the geopolitical squabble, or
if 'corruption' simply becomes the excuse when the proxy war isn't going as planned. Perhaps the real news is that when the propaganda gets too thick, even rival state media can find a sliver of common, if still self-serving, ground.