05/15/2022 / By JD Heyes
Readers know that since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February and the U.S. and West responded by punishing Moscow and embracing Kyiv that we have presented plenty of information showing just how corrupt the government of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy really is.
While President Vladimir Putin’s forces are certainly being brutal and civilians in Ukraine a suffering a lot more than Russian citizens are, it is war, after all; people die in horrific, grotesque ways while destruction is rampant. This isn’t an “Afghanistan” war, by any means; it more resembles what occurred in that country during World War II.
And while we’re not at all saying Putin doesn’t share some blame for what he’s done or that he and his government are saints, it’s clear both sides share responsibility for what is taking place, and neither side is completely clean.
Therefore, it makes no sense to take a side like we have done, and certainly not the side of a country known before the war to have been one of the most corrupt in Europe. That’s why it’s obscene and outrageous that the Biden regime would adopt a policy of outright piracy against Russia, as Information Liberation notes, which mockingly pointed out that the “rules-based order” (the U.S.-led West) isn’t playing by any of its own rules.
The White House unveiled a proposed legislative package on Thursday that would allow the federal government to sell assets seized from Russian oligarchs over the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine and to use the proceeds for military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
Why it matters: The U.S. has already seized million[s] of dollars in assets from wealthy Russians with close ties to President Vladimir Putin. It and other governments are hoping that financial pressure on those individuals will translate into political pressure on Putin, potentially curtailing his power.
The proposal comes after the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to urge the Biden administration to liquidate the seized assets to help Ukraine.
“This is just straightforward, unabashed, naked piracy,” Information Liberation’s Chris Menahan wrote, adding that last year, the Biden regime conducted a similar act of piracy when it seized an Iranian oil tanker and sold off its contents of nearly $2 million barrels for $110 million.
And while Zelenskyy has pleaded with the West for more weapons, more ammo, and mo’ money ($7 billion per month), he himself has a sizeable fortune that could also be confiscated by the West if that’s the policy we’re following now, then redistributed to his people.
Menahan added: “The US should be seizing Zelensky’s hidden offshore wealth that he got from corrupt Israeli-Ukrainian billionaire oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, who has been bleeding Ukraine dry for decades. The US should be selling the few assets they seized from Kolomoisky and launching an international effort to take back his fraudulently obtained wealth on behalf of the Ukrainian people.”
But of course, that won’t happen because, obviously, the Biden regime and the rest of the West have chosen sides: Ukraine’s side.
Meanwhile, the regime and Congress are also bilking American taxpayers for the war in Ukraine. In addition to sending Kyiv U.S. military property that we paid for in the form of equipment and weapons, the regime is also outright sending billions in cash to Ukraine’s leader knowing he is corrupt and that a sizeable portion of those funds is going to be siphoned off for ‘personal use’ by Zelenskyy and his principle government officials. Already, the White House has authorized $15 billion in transfers to Kyiv and just last week Biden asked Congress for more than $30 billion more.
This is madness. The war in Ukraine is an extension of Russian national security policy after our side toyed with the notion of admitting Ukraine into NATO for years.
If anyone is to blame for the conflict, it’s Washington and Europe. Stealing then selling Russian assets is only going to inflame relations and make the situation worse.
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Tagged Under:
corruption, Iran, oil, piracy, rules-based order, Russia, theft, U.S., Ukraine, Ukrainian assistance, United States, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Washington, west
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