By Ted Snider, Responsible Statecraft, 5/12/26

An explosive new poll suggests that a majority of Ukrainians feel their future is more threatened by corruption in the government than by Russian military aggression.

Given that Ukraine’s anti-corruption watchdog just charged Andriy Yermak, former head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, with money laundering and corruption, the results of this survey are particularly salient.

The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology’s (KIIS) poll, conducted between April 20 and 27 and released on May 6, asked Ukrainians who lived in territory controlled by Ukraine what they “consider the biggest threat to Ukraine’s development.” They were given two choices: government corruption or Russia’s military aggression. Some 54% said they were more concerned with corruption; 39% identified the Russians.

Additional new polling conducted by KIIS suggests that not only concern with corruption is going up, but that trust in Zelensky is going in the wrong direction too — though the majority of those polled still trust the Ukrainian president rather than not, 58% to 36%. This represents a 4-point drop from the 62% who trusted him only a month earlier. Complaints such as the continuing war, unspecified “unfulfilled promises,” and corruption topped the list among those who lacked full faith in the Ukrainian president.

These criticisms are endemic and reflect a larger problem for Ukraine, say critics. Sociologist Volodymyr Ishchenko of Freie Universität Berlin told Responsible Statecraft that the concern with corruption identified in the polling shows that “Ukrainians fundamentally distrust their state and the elite and this has not changed during the ‘existential’ war that was supposed to unite the country.”

Additionally, Ishchenko asserts that the “crisis of legitimacy” has harmed the war effort because as “the massive draft dodging and desertion” shows, Ukrainians “do not want to sacrifice themselves” for a state they do not trust.

A breakdown of the people who said they did not trust Zelensky found that 20% identified corruption as the cause. And, in that regard, things could be getting worse. Aside of Yermak’s charges on Monday, new revelations about last year’s investigation into a $100 million kickback scheme could add to the damage.r

In November 2025, Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) cooperated in “a major anti-corruption operation” that led to charges being laid against multiple high-level officials. Some of them inhabited Zelensky’s innermost circle. Some of them have now been suspended or fired or have resigned. Several more have been implicated.

Timur Mindich, a close friend of Zelensky and co-owner of his Kvartal 95 media production company, may have been the ringleader of the operation. According to NABU, Timur Mindich, “controlled the work of the so-called ‘laundry room,’ where criminally-obtained funds were laundered.”

As NABU describes it, the “high-level criminal organization” bribed energy contractors between 10 and 15 percent of their contracts’ value. But what really stung Ukrainians is that some of those contracts were for defensive fortifications to protect energy infrastructure that was being bombed by Russia. And while those strikes left many Ukrainians without power, tapes obtained by NABU seem to contain conversations about delaying these fortification projects to obtain maximum profit on kickbacks from more lucrative alternatives.

Now a new set of tapes has been released that brings the corruption scandal back into the attention of Ukrainians and could make concern with corruption and distrust in Zelensky even worse.

The just-released tapes appear to show people who are very close to Zelensky, including Mindich, influencing then-Defence Minister Rustem Umerov’s decisions on defense contracts. The tapes also appear to capture conversations about luxury estates that were financed by the corruption scheme, including one that is allegedly for Yermak.

Mykola Hladyshchenko, a high ranking official of a state-owned bank at the centre of the corruption scandal, temporarily suspended himself after the new tapes implicated his bank in the scandal. But the biggest official yet to be charged in the wake of the new tapes is Yermak.

Nevertheless, throughout the war, Ukrainians have proven their resilience and their optimism. Despite years of hardship, asked whether they saw their country as a “prosperous EU member” or a “ruined country” ten years from now, a full 63% still opted for the optimistic choice. That is down only 3% since the beginning of the year. But corruption does negatively impact Ukrainians domestically while harming their chances for European Union accession, Western integration, and European support. The worsening kick back corruption scandal will only reinforce this pattern of distrust and make Ukrainians’ fears for the future of their country worse.

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The Ukrainian Political War: Who Is Waging It and Is Its Target Ukraine’s Corruption or Zelenskiy?

By Gordon Hahn, Substack, 5/14/26

Note: Articles are cross-posted as is. Typos are in the original.

Recently, four simultaneous events in Ukraine that markedly intensified the already overwhelming stench of corruption surrounding the country’s leader Volodomyr Zelenskiy, his elite, and the Maidan regime as a whole. Besides that stench, there is another smell: that of a well-orchestrated campaign to weaken Zelsnkiy and drive him from power. The director or directors of this campaign are almost certainly in Washington. However, it cannot be excluded that its one-time minions have gone rogue and are playing a game internal to Ukraine alone.

The four events are the following.

First was last week’s release of new Mindichgate or Midasgate tapes implicating both Chairman of the Defense and Security Committee of Ukraine and former Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and former head of Zelenskiy’s Office of the President Andriy Yermak, who was forced to resign from this, the second most powerful position in Ukraine after the first wave of Mindichtapes and accusations were released by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) last summer. These tapes revealed more evidence of these officials’ involvement in graft involving the casting agency-turned defense industrial enterprise producing drones owned by Zelenskiy’s close associate Timur Mindich. Another tranche of tapes released a day later covered discussions between Mindich and Umerov regarding a corrupt real estate deal that was to end with the construction of four mansions—one apparently designated for Zelenskiy himself (www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/04/29/8032290/ and www.intellinews.com/new-nabu-tapes-implicate-zelenskiy-s-inner-circle-in-corruption-440581/).

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Second, new charges were levelled by NABU against Yermak, a former deputy prime minister and four others, including a “businessman (likley Mindich). The indictment charges Yermak and the others for laundering more than 460 million griven (Ukrainian currency) by constructing a luxury residential complex in the village of Kozyn, the Kyiv region including “four private estates with auxiliary facilities, along with a shared spa complex, on an 8-hectare land plot. Nearly USD 9 million of the construction costs was money-laundered by Mindich, who was intended to become the owner of one of the estates (https://nabu.gov.ua/en/news/legalizatciia-460-mln-grn-na-elitnomu-budivnytctvi-pid-kyyevom-novi-pidozry/ and https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-12/ukraine-s-anti-graft-agency-probes-officials-in-real-estate-case).

Third, on Tuesday Yermak was detained in the center of Kiev. The Special Anti-Corruption Office of the Procuracy (SAPO) then released information regarding what its agents had found in his car upon detention. The materials included Yernak’s “plan maximum,” which involved an attempt to make appointments to top posts in Ukraine’s secret police, the Security Service of Ukraine or SBU (https://strana.news/news/505418-v-avto-ermaka-nashli-plany-naznachenij-na-kljuchevye-dolzhnosti-v-sbu.html). It is worth noting that the SBU officials have been targets of recent NABU investigations (https://nabu.gov.ua/en/news/vymagannia-110-tys-khabaria-pratcivnykam-sbu-ta-advokatu-povidomyly-pro-pidozru/). Indeed, on the SBU or at least former SBU officials named in Yermak’s plan maximum is General Il’ya Vityuk, who was charged with abuse of office for self-enrichment in connection with a real estate deal and removed from office in September 2025, shortly after the Mindichgate revelations were made (https://strana.news/news/490945-vitjuku-izbrali-meru-presechenija.html). In addition to Yermak’s plan, which may have been of a pre-coup or some other nefarious nature, “evidence of influence” on the State Bureau of Investigation (GBR), the General Prosecurtor’s Office, and the Finance Ministry (https://strana.news/news/505418-v-avto-ermaka-nashli-plany-naznachenij-na-kljuchevye-dolzhnosti-v-sbu.html). Also, in one memo found, Yermak mentions a fortune teller he advised with in making personnel decisions (https://strana.news/news/505414-prokurory-zajavili-chto-ermak-sovetovalsja-s-hadalkoj-po-kadrovym-voprosam.html). At his detention herain on Wednesday Yermak faced with detention or release under a large bail sum. As of writing, the hearing is delayed, and Zelenskiy remains silent.

Fourth, the day prior to NABU’s indictment of Yermak and his cohorts, Zelenskiy’s former press secretary, Yulia Mendel, gave a blockbuster interview to Tucker Carlson in which she confirmed the massive corruption inside Zelenskiy’s inner circle and the leader’s own encouragement of, and likely involvement in it as well as Zelenskiy’s immense narcisssism, simulacratism (if you will) or emphasis on propaganda to make an alternative reality, and drug taking (www.facebook.com/reel/1609995450289819?__cft__[0]=AZbB0kuw3ErbGzscTq4kFyDQPMTYtIL0D-3ZzXsRIKq9kPHTatsKrK_GHHT_r6uIAkQ9RhQOGGbiWHRZLNT1XoOA3TGkgInEulwQVJcKAhpweJ_rraxvGXuKT_GVDZEJW4NtNixx0tee8foF3uGg-f_WS-4zkvSa6AzVmRbJUVIYGr7ZpeTHXXDZzjj-ffmDEpLWiw1id6GqOfNGetN8kR2z&__tn__=-UK-R).

The simultaneity of these events makes it almost a certaintly that they are part of a well-planned political assault on Zelenskiy. As I have noted in previous articles related to the original Mindichgate revelations, investigations, indictments, arrests, and ‘departures’ of suspected high state officisls from the country, this is likely an effort that originates in Washington, as NABU is closely tied to the FBI and the U.S. government as well as the Democrat Party and George Soros (https://gordonhahn.substack.com/p/zelenskiy-kiev-in-quicksand?r=stexy; https://gordonhahn.substack.com/p/coup-poker-again-in-kiev?r=stexy; https://gordonhahn.substack.com/p/kiev-coup-poker-update?r=stexy; and https://gordonhahn.substack.com/p/kiev-pre-coup-crisis-politics-update?r=stexy).

The tightening of the corruption noose around Zelenskiy’s neck has to be part of a larger plan. It is likely that two forces in Washington generally opposed to each other – US President Donald Trump and the ‘Deep State’ – in a rare case are working towards the same end for different reasons. Trump is endeavoring still to press Zelenskiy to begin honest peace negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and at a minimum agree to give up the rest of Donetsk, if not Zaporozhe and Kherson, to Moscow in order to secure an agreement. In the event, Zelenskiy continues to hold out and fight the war, Yermak’s successor in the OP and former military intelligence (HUR) chief Kirill Budanov could be a replacement candidate. Budanov has repeatedly warned of a coming disaster at the front and has been negotiating prisoner releases and other issues with Russian military intelligence on an episodic basis with results. He could be a compromise candidate acceptable to the CIA, MI6, the Democrat Party, and globalist oligarchs like Soros. After all it was the Barak Obama administration’s CIA that trained Budanov in intelligence, sabotage, and assassination operations.

The CIA, the Democrat Party, globalist oligarchs like Soros, and MI6 likely are hoping to bring a new force to power; one that will continue the NATO-Russia Ukrainian War. To be sure, some in globalist-captured Europe are nervous about some of their EU colleagues’ plans to militarize and plan for war with Russia. Besides Slovakia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and even still Hungary, Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb said it was time to begin talks with Russia (https://news.liga.net/en/war/news/stubb-said-he-was-looking-for-an-envoy-or-group-of-leaders-from-europe-to-contact-russia). Clearly, Trump is pressuring Europe to stop its escalation of the Ukrainian War and political-military tensions with Russia and back his stalled, all but dead Ukrainian peace drive. With Ukraine suffering military, social, economic, financial, and political crises and a Russian summer offensive around the corner, the jig is up for the globalists’ golden boy, but some of the globalists and their allies still may not realize it. The Europeans, who have some influence over NABU, may also be using the Mindichgate corrupt scandal in order to trap Zelenskiy so that he continues to do its bidding by fighting Russia and to not to dare to even think about seeking a peace agreement with Putin.

In order to prevent Russia from exacting a strategic defeat on NATO, the U.S., and the globalist-oligarchic elite, it is more likely that these forces are either preparing the ground for Zelenskiy’s fall or directly pursuing it. In the event, they would like to see former commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valeriy Zaluzhniy and/or neofascist elements, such as the military’s well-armed 3rd Army Corps ‘Azov’ led by Brigadier General Andriy Biletskiy and/or the 1st Army Corps ‘Azov’ led by Brigadier general Denys ‘Redis’ Prokopenko. Zaluzhniy has had good relations with another neofascist formation, Right Sector, whose founder, Dmitro Yarosh, he appointed as an advisor of his before the war, so he, like so many in Ukraine, are willing and able to work with these extremist forces. Biletskiy, as I wrote recently, is on the rise in terms of coercive power as well as pubic popularity and authority. Should Biletskiy’s and Prokopenko’s respective Azov corps overcome their differences, they, along with Zaluzhniy, would constitute a formidable force capable of pulling a coup d’ etat. If one doubts that elements in the West would turn to neofascist to save their Ukraine project and effort to deliver a strategic defeat to Russia, then you need look no farther than Syria where an Al Qaida leader was ushered into power in Syria. U.S. and other Western intelligence work with Ukrainian fascists has a long pedigree and is in demand today.

Another possibility, less likely albeit, is that the West’s s minions in NABU and elsewhere in Ukraine are going rogue and are playing a largely domestic game internal to Ukraine. NABU and much of the rest of the Ukrainian government is dependent on Western financing, and it could not be waging war against Zelenskiy and his corruption without some sort of Western backing.

Either way, the roof is coming down on Zelenskiy’s head and the Maidan regime. The corrupt circus of this clown and superb actor is closing down. The stakes are sky high in NATO and the West, especially with the Iran debacle and shift to a Russo-Sino-empowered multipolar world. With the Ukrainian army in rapid retreat this summer, it is time for the West to conjure up a Plan B, however futile or dangerous it might be.

By Natalia Trapeznikova, Frank Media (Russia), 4/30/26 (Machine translation)

According to data published by Rosstat, the Gini coefficient in Russia stood at 0.422 by the end of 2025. It reflects the uneven distribution of income within society. Its value ranges from 0 to 1: the higher the value, the more unevenly wealth is distributed within society. Russia’s 2025 figure is the highest in the past 18 years; the last time income inequality in Russia reached this level was in 2007.

The Gini coefficient increased by 2.7% compared to 2024. This is the strongest growth trend in the past five years. For example, in 2024, the coefficient increased by 1.2% (to 0.410), in 2023 by 1.7% (to 0.405), and in 2021 by 0.7% (to 0.409). In 2022, the Gini coefficient decreased by 2.7% (to 0.398).

A new approach to an old question

Rosstat has introduced a new methodology for calculating the Gini coefficient, which takes into account the tax burden and regional differentiation. While the current calculation method uses income before income tax, the new methodology will use income remaining after taxes, accounting for interregional differences.Read alsoThe Central Bank recommended restructuring the debts of businesses affected by floods in southern Russia.

The new indicator will also be used to determine how effectively the Russian authorities have achieved the goals set in the presidential decree. According to the decree, the Gini coefficient should decrease to 0.37 by 2030 and to 0.33 by 2036.

The Gini coefficient calculated using the new methodology was 0.375, close to the target set for officials by Vladimir Putin. The figure was significantly lower than the standard calculation. The higher the income level, the greater the level of tax deductions, since Russia has had a progressive tax scale since 2025, explained Elena Vashalomidze, associate professor of the Department of Labor Economics and Demography at the Faculty of Economics at the Academy of Labor and Social Relations, to the Vedomosti newspaper.

Rosstat promised to publish both Gini coefficients in the future—those calculated using both the old and new methodology.

Rosstat had previously published an estimate of the Gini coefficient in its 2025 annual report, but then removed it, the “If byt’chnom” project noted in March. At that time, it was 0.419. This estimate was confirmed by the project’s own calculations. State Duma deputies also criticized Rosstat for removing inequality data.

By Rosemary Kelanic, Responsible Statecraft, 5/1/26

Rosemary Kelanic is Director of the Middle East Program at Defense Priorities and author of the book, Black Gold and Blackmail: Oil and Great Power Politics. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, and other outlets. She earned her PhD in political science from the University of Chicago.

President Trump and members of his administration have repeatedly claimed that the United States’ prodigious oil production insulates the country from price shocks stemming from Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

It’s not clear whether they’re acting as fools or knaves – but either way, they’re wrong.

U.S. oil production does not render American consumers immune to fluctuations in oil prices, which are determined by the interplay of supply and demand in a global market. To the contrary, because the U.S. economy burns more oil to produce each unit of economic output than peer countries do, the United States will suffer more from the Iran War price shock than will China, Russia, or the European Union.

Those facts will surprise many Americans because myths and misconceptions about oil have long clouded U.S. political debates and the reasons behind U.S. vulnerability are genuinely counterintuitive.

Oil price shocks affect all countries, regardless of how much petroleum they produce, because of the deeply globalized nature of oil markets. Economists often compare the global oil market to a giant bathtub with many spigots and drains. The spigots represent all the countries producing commercial quantities of oil, and the drains represent states consuming oil, which is every country in the world.

It generally doesn’t matter which molecules from which spigots go into which drains. What determines prices is the overall level of oil in the bathtub, which represents the global oil supply, and market speculation, or predictions about future oil prices that can influence actual prices through self-fulfilling prophecies.

Normally, the global market supplies roughly 100 million barrels per day, but the Hormuz closure provoked by President Trump’s disastrous war against Iran has abruptly removed about 10 million barrels a day. That has reduced the bathtub level of oil and raised prices for every country attached to the global oil market – including the U.S. – regardless of whether or not they directly consume Persian Gulf oil.

The crisis is unfolding on a time delay, with Asia hit first — but not worst — due to its proximity to the Persian Gulf, the site of the physical disruption. The worst effects have yet to ripple across the full length of the bathtub, but their arrival is imminent in the Western Hemisphere.

Ironically, the stream of empty oil tankers crossing the Atlantic to load up on U.S. oil, which President Trump bragged about on Truth Social on April 11, is the exact transmission mechanism through which the shock spreads.

Those tankers are now diverting U.S. supply to Asia, where prices are higher, which in turn drives up oil prices here. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data for the week ending April 24 shows a massive drawdown of 6.2 million barrels from U.S. oil inventories, confirming that diversion is already underway. EIA now estimates that average U.S. gasoline prices jumped to $4.24 per gallon in April, up from $3.77/gallon in March and $3.03/gallon in February, before the war began.

Even if the Strait of Hormuz reopened at full capacity tomorrow, U.S. gasoline prices in May will no doubt be even higher than April, due to the time-delayed effects of Persian Gulf oil already removed from the market.

It’s no exaggeration to say a global economic meltdown could be the result. Oil price shocks are linked to economic recessions, with 10 out of the 12 post-WWII U.S. recessions immediately preceded by a spike in oil prices. The only exceptions are the 1960-61 recession and the Covid pandemic.

Oil consumption is a necessity that can’t be quickly reduced. U.S. consumers live where they live, drive the car they drive, and must still commute to work. So high gasoline prices force U.S. households to reduce spending on everything else, leading to massive demand shock for all other goods. Increased transportation costs for items like food and clothing will also cause the prices of those necessities to spike, worsening U.S. inflation.

That’s the basic logic for how oil price shocks affect consumers, but the actual pain felt by Americans will be comparatively worse than the situation in China, Russia, and the EU. The U.S. economy is highly oil intensive, meaning that it burns more oil to produce each unit of GDP than all of these countries, by quite significant amounts. Per dollar of economic output, the U.S. economy consumes twice as much oil as the EU, 40% more oil than China, and 20% more oil than Russia — which is especially astounding because Russia is a petrostate.

Two underlying factors explain why U.S. output is so reliant on oil. First, the U.S. is a car-loving culture, and its transportation system has always relied more heavily on automobiles than other major powers. Second, the U.S. has lagged in transitioning to electric vehicles, which can be powered by electric grids that are almost entirely independent of oil. China, in particular, has long pushed EVs and electric rail for strategic reasons, understanding the security benefits of decoupling their transit system from a global oil market prone to price shocks.

In the long term, the U.S. should copy China’s strategy and de-risk from petroleum through government policies to encourage the U.S. transition away from oil-burning automobiles.

But in the short run, the only solution is to make a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz — and the sooner the better. As the disruption hits and U.S. prices skyrocket, Trump’s bargaining power vis-à-vis Iran will plummet. Whatever cost the U.S. must pay to Iran to reopen Hormuz will only compound as the oil crisis worsens. Time is not on Trump’s side.

Russia Matters, 5/11/26

“I believe that the matter is coming to an end, but this is really a serious matter,” Vladimir Putin declared regarding the Ukraine conflict during a Q&A following this year’s Victory Day parade, casting the war as a proxy struggle with “the so‑called globalist part of the Western elites.” Commenting on Putin’s remark, Kommersant’s veteran Kremlin pool reporter Andrei Kolesnikov argued that “changes have appeared in Vladimir Putin’s position. He has begun to think of something, possibly different, about this war.” “In Vladimir Putin’s opinion, the end is near,” Kolesnikov added in his account of the May 9 Q&A. Putin’s declaration constitutes “one of the Kremlin’s clearest indications yet that Moscow may be seeking a negotiated settlement after more than four years of fighting,” according to long-time Berlin-based Russia watcher Ben Aris. In contrast, Moscow-based analyst Georgii Bovt warns against literal readings of Putin’s declaration that “the matter is coming to an end,” calling the phrase rhetoric “addressed to the public,” which both craves an end and is meant to hear that “victory itself is near.” In her latest R. Politik Bulletin, France-based Russian political analyst Tatyana Stanovaya argues that Putin’s unusually upbeat claim that the war “is coming to an end” reflects his perception of a fragmenting West rather than any genuine readiness to compromise. A Telegram channel attributed to well-known Russian blogger Anatoly Nesmiyan observes that Putin’s remark sparked a wave of commentary, with some seeing “no visible reasons for the war to end.” “Yet in an autocratic regime, rationality is secondary, and a conflict can begin or end without clear cause,” according to the Otrkytye Prostranstva (Open Space) Telegram channel. Our search of Putin’s speeches on May 9 in 2022–2025 on the Kremlin’s website netted repeated closing calls “For Victory!” by Putin, but no declarations that the war in Ukraine is coming to an end. Russia’s recent territorial losses in Ukraine and modest declines in Putin’s popularity (which is still above 60% and is perhaps partially driven by shrinking economic output) may have played a role if Putin’s claim did constitute a signal that he wants to end the war soon.*

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Putin’s Bitter Reckoning With Europe: An Analysis of Vladimir Putin’s Victory Day Comments

By Alexander Mercouris, Substack, 5/10/26

Putin’s press conference yesterday was interesting because it highlighted his deep feeling of anger and betrayal by Europe.

(1) He reminded the journalists (all Russians) that the crisis began with the EU insisting Ukraine ratify an Association Agreement incompatible with Ukraine’s free trade agreement with Russia. When Ukraine demurred the Maidan coup was the result;

(2) He said Europe’s objective in 2022 was to engineer Russia’s collapse so that the Europeans would be able to help themselves to its parts. In a truly extraordinary passage, he spoke of Finland joining NATO in order to participate in the plunder;

(3) He gave a very bitter account of the events of April 2022 and of the failure of the Istanbul Agreement.

Briefly: He revealed for the first time that it was Macron who called him and tricked him into pulling Russian troops back from Kiev, telling him that “the Ukrainians could not be expected (to sign the Istanbul Agreement) with a gun pointing at their head”. He was careful to say that the Russians recorded the conversation and have Macron saying all this on tape.

He then spoke about how, once the Russian troops had been withdrawn, ‘another colourful character’ – Boris Johnson – told the Ukrainians to ditch the Istanbul Agreement in return for unlimited Western support.

I came away with the clear impression that Putin believes Macron and Johnson were working together and had it all worked out in advance;

(4) He accused the Europeans of using Ukraine as a proxy in their conflict with Russia;

(5) He signalled that the only major West European political figure he retains any trust in is Gerhard Schroder, who is of course out of power;

(6) Contrary to many reports, Putin did NOT say that he believes the Ukraine conflict is coming to an end. This belief stems from misreporting of his words by a TASS journalist.

If Putin’s words are read carefully it is clear his meaning was quite different. It is that with the failure to bring about the collapse of Russia that which on The Duran we call ‘Project Ukraine’, ie. the West’s (in Putin’s view, Europe’s) bid to use Ukraine as a tool to destabilise Russia, is coming to an end.

Perhaps wrongly, Putin appears to blame the Europeans more for ‘Project Ukraine’ than he does the Americans.

(7) Putin did float the possibility that with the failure of Project Ukraine, and with the crisis this has caused in Europe, a new generation of European leaders might find a way back towards a reconciliation with Russia. However, he did not seem to me to say this with much conviction;

(8) As for the Americans, Putin appears to think that their various diplomatic initiatives of the last year to end the war have run into a wall and are effectively over.

Many people will say that Putin has a paranoid view of Europe and its intentions. He however would point to Europe’s actions (eg. he spoke about Europe’s work fabricating Ukraine’s drones) and its rhetoric, which is frankly terrible. Certainly, in Russia his opinions are widely shared.

This is where in Europe relentless hostility, extreme rhetoric, and a total rejection of dialogue with the Russians, has led us. If the Russians and their leader now entertain these views of us, we should not be surprised.

By Joe Blank, Buy Me a Coffee, 4/30/26

Note: Images available at original link above. – Natylie

So I want to begin with a simple question for you, dear reader.

When you see the terms “humanitarian aid”, what images immediately come to mind? It’s relatively subjective. Some might picture medical tents setup in some remote outpost of civilization treating fever or a contagious disease. For others, it might be grain shipments, water shipments to starving people in times of famine, or emergency housing after a natural disaster. Blankets for refugees. It could be any number of things meant to alleviate human suffering. But odds are, it’s something good. Something humane.

And it’s under that simple premise, I’d like to introduce you to but one of several Ukrainian “charities” currently operating in the United States, 1Team1Fight, and their definition of “humanitarian aid”:

(Screenshot from 1Team1Fight’s co-founder, Dmitro Drei’s Twitter/X account 1/9/2024)


Now let’s go back in time. The first half of 2022, as the Russians had freshly invaded Ukraine. A former Estonian sales manager named “Harri” found himself waiting at a checkpoint between the two countries, already delivering body armor on behalf of an Estonian aid organization when, according to Estonian publication “Postimees”, Harri came up with a business plan to help bring in equipment for the military to fight the war, with “the funding scheme and social media strategy playing an important role”.

But despite helping to found the organization he was already working with, “Ukraine Aid Ops”, Harri wanted to take the effort in a different direction, apparently, as by the latter half of the year, a chance encounter in a Kyiv taxi would put Harri in touch with Dmitro. You see, Dmitro had been forced – according to the story – to driving a taxi after Russians had reportedly shelled his private business. Assuming anyone had the motive to get back at the Russians in a substantive way while developing a stable income, Dmitro would.

And so, with indications of some resentment between Harri and Ukraine Aid Ops, they parted ways and the independent 1Team1Fight began in earnest. Just two guys – a local Ukrainian who knew the lay of the land, and Harri, motivated to start receiving donations and expand the catalogue of equipment they were able to provide. A few months later, in 2023, 1Team1Fight then expanded it’s operations in the USA, filing for and receiving approval as a non-profit 501(c)3, allowing any donations received to be labeled “humanitarian aid”.

I hope it’s rather explicit where my concern is. You see, after doing just a bit of light research, it’s rather evident that equipping a foreign military for combat operations is NOT a cutout that’s been made for Ukraine. Generally, equipping a foreign military alone wouldn’t, but after years of their fundraising efforts, it’s clear what type of equipment has been provided.

“Kamikaze drones”, cheap, consumer-grade drones, likely put together by civilian volunteers with the aid of 3D-printed parts, meant to drop munitions on the enemy. All sorts of equipment is ran through 1Team1Fight to the Ukrainian military: thermal sights. trucks. ATV’s. laptops and Starlink systems,. By browsing their social media on Twitter/X alone, you can find the organization and it’s members frequently boasting of and showing images of equipment meant to fuel combat operations and make the military more effective:

(Screenshots from 1Team1Fight’s Twitter/X account)

After gaining 501(c)3 status, both Harri, Dmitro, and the organization began proudly displaying it on their website and almost every social media post, reminding those inside the US that donations could be written off as charity under US tax code, and that their affairs were managed by a certified public accountant. Again, being a public charity, this information was easy enough to verify so I reached out to the person listed on their documentation as being the CPA.

Curious to have a conversation with this person as to what in the US tax code allowed a cutout for funding the Ukrainian military’s equipment needs, I contacted the CPA who was a bit confused as to why. You see, she had apparently only been approached to establish the charity, and had no ongoing responsibility of monitoring their donations or preparing their tax forms. Which makes it even stranger, considering her name was associated as the CPA filing on behalf of the charity for both 2023 and 2024. The CPA assured me this was done without her knowledge and participation and that she would reach out to the IRS to have this corrected.

Deana is but one of two directors listed in the US for the 501(c)3. Neither she, nor the other, seem to have much of a public footprint, but one thing is clear. Reviewing her timeline on social media shows an almost rampant furor on behalf of the Ukrainian cause.

Now, in all this, I attempted to make contact with all three of these individuals, Dmitro, Harri, and Deana. Naturally, in Ukraine, to receive a beneficial tax status for equipping their military is a bit different. They have a vested reason to allow more favorable tax status to organizations providing weaponry and aid. Our system, not so much.

Harri was the least forthcoming of them all. When I brought up simple questions as to how this is allowable by US tax code, I was blocked on social media. Dmitro, for his part, was kind enough to reply, but when asked about the equipment he was purchasing qualifying as humanitarian aid, only had thinly veiled threats to “come visit him” and slurs in response:

Deana Brown, the US-based director of the organization, for her part, replied to my emails, simply telling me I had “wrong information” about them, and that she wouldn’t respond to drama or attacks. She did note that I should pay attention to other groups, like hers, currently operating in the United States. Sort of a “everyone else is doing it so why can’t we?”, as I took it, and told me to spare myself the embarassment.

Now, as it appears that donations are dying down the longer the Ukraine war continues to harangue Eastern Europe, though, it does seem that “Harri” himself has, in the past few weeks, decided to jump ship once again, leaving the organization for greener pastures. Maybe he feels like it’s not a viable business plan any longer. Maybe he’s concerned about scrutiny eventually sneaking in. No way to really know.

I make no secret that I’ve never seen the point of US government spending on Ukraine, unless it were to provide the basics of what, I argue, is normally defined as “humanitarian aid”. Relief for the injured and the displaced. Medicine. Heating for those without power. But it doesn’t sit well that this group, amongst others, is operating in the US, freely soliciting donations on social media with the disclaimer that they are a tax-exempt charity managed by a certified accountant, when indeed, they are apparently not.

Over $200 billion was spent during the Biden administration on Ukraine, enough, in theory, to provide a $200k home to every single homeless American man, woman, and child. This, without Ukraine being a US ally or having a treaty between our nations requiring that we provide so much as a dollar for their material defense. In our current economic situation here in the US, I feel it lax oversight that would enable groups like this to continue taking from the American tax system to benefit a foreign fighting force in combat operations.

So I leave it up to you to judge. If you, like I, believe that this activity is questionable (at best) and, as a responsible citizen, I plan to make both the IRS and the State of Florida aware of what I’ve learned and I would encourage you to reach out to them as well, as a thorough review of ther tax situation may be warranted. Please note I will continue digging into 1Team1Fight as well as the other, larger Ukraine aid organizations operating here in the USA, each with a distinct set of curious connections to NAFO and other well-known figures in the Ukraine propaganda sphere.

If you like the work, please feel free to support what I do on the main page of Buymeacoffee, as it’s always appreciated. I’m really interested in approaching the bigger groups, and any assistance helps buy me time to focus. Either way, I appreciate you for reaching the end.

– Joe