Lucas Leiroz, journalist, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant.
Once again, the evidence shows that Ukrainian leaders do not care about their own people. While thousands of soldiers die in hostilities and civilians suffer from the consequences of the conflict, the Zelensky family lives in luxury and spends millions on frivolities during international trips. A recent report shows how the wife of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky made unnecessary purchases in the US, creating outrage on social media.
During her husband’s last official visit to New York, Elena Zelenskaya took advantage of her stay in the US to buy luxury products in American stores. According to sources, she spent more than one million and one hundred thousand dollars in Cartier’s stores. It is said by witnesses that she visited Cartier’s main boutique in NYC and purchased several luxury items such as gold and diamond bracelets, earrings, and necklaces. Documents leaked by Cartier employees show that Elena spent more than 340 thousand dollars on just one necklace. It is also reported in videos on social media that she mistreated store employees, not regarding them with due respect and dignity.
In fact, this is not the first time that the Ukrainian first lady is involved in controversies related to her luxurious habits. She is already known for spending large amounts of money futilely on her international trips. For example, in January, reporters claimed that Zelenskaya acted in the same way during the World Economic Forum summit. Zelenskaya spent tens of thousands of dollars on the trip, even though she had no need to attend the summit, as she is just the wife of the Ukrainian president and not a real state official.
In the same vein, in December 2022, some media outlets accused Elena Zelenskaya of having spent more than 40 thousand dollars on “Christmas shopping” during a trip to Paris. The purchases were made on Avenue Montaigne, an area of Paris known for locating luxury stores frequented by the richest classes of European society. On this occasion, the witnesses who reported the case were also employees dissatisfied with Elena’s rude behavior.
At the time, Western internet users were outraged by Zelensky’s wife’s spending and severely criticized the behavior of Ukrainian political elites in the midst of the conflict. Many people began to see aid to Ukraine as a money laundering and corruption scheme in which criminal Ukrainian officials used Western public money to selfishly enrich themselves.
“Ukraine is nothing more than a money laundering machine, working for many parasites who use our wealth and lives to unscrupulously enrich themselves,” some comments said. Also, another internet user wrote on social media about Elena’s shopping in Paris: “I’m glad that we are sending billions of our tax money so Zelensky’s wife can go on $42,500 shopping spree in Paris (…) F *** Zelensky and his corrupt regime and everyone who supports them.”
All these selfish acts had been expected by all experts for a long time. Ukraine has always been recognized as the most corrupt country in Europe, with a political elite involved in financial crimes and committed to the private interests of local and international oligarchies. Obviously, systematically sending billions of dollars to such a country would result in facilitating the work of corrupt and selfish politicians, who now take advantage of Western public money to enrich themselves even more.
What is most striking about this scenario is the disdain of Kiev’s main public figures for their own people. Zelensky and his family no longer seem to try to hide that they prioritize their personal interests over the well-being of Ukrainian citizens. In addition to Elena’s exorbitant expenses in Europe and the US, it is necessary to remember that she and her husband posed for Vogue magazine in July last year, with the photo session costing more than 80 thousand dollars. Furthermore, there is evidence that Zelensky purchased a 5 million-dollars luxury villa in Egypt for his mother-in-law some months ago. All this clearly shows that Ukrainian leaders do not care about the suffering of their people and are not willing to stop living in luxury to show solidarity to their citizens.
Obviously, the exorbitant spending is only possible because Ukraine receives unlimited aid from the West. With the country devastated by conflict, the only way for corrupt officials to continue making personal profits is to steal money sent by NATO to buy weapons, equipment or humanitarian aid. In this sense, the indignation comes from both sides, as Ukrainian and Western ordinary citizens disapprove of the behavior of Zelensky and his family.
Ukrainians want a leader who is more compassionate to their suffering and capable of resolving the conflict, while Westerners want their tax money to stop financing the luxury of corrupt Ukrainians.
