Alice Weidel has urged German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to reestablish relations with Russia
[RT] AfD party co-chair Alice Weidel speaks during a plenary session of the German Bundestag on March 18, 2026, in Berlin. © Lilli Förter / picture alliance via Getty Images
Ukraine
is one of the most corrupt nations on Earth and Berlin should stop
funding its government, Alternative for Germany party co-chair Alice
Weidel has told the German parliament.
The exposure of a series of
graft scandals involving Vladimir Zelensky’s inner circle has severely
damaged his regime, which depends on hundreds of billions of euros from
its European backers. As a result, several of Zelensky’s closest
confidants have fled the country or been forced to resign.
Weidel asked German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Bundestag on Wednesday if his government wants to “continue financing one of the world’s most corrupt countries with billions to prolong a hopeless war.” The co-leader of the right-wing AfD party also urged Merz to “re-establish the broken lines of communication with Russia” and work toward the resumption of gas imports from the country instead.
Weidel
called for sanctions on Moscow to be lifted, pointing out that the US
has already begun doing so, referring to a waiver for the sale of
Russian oil issued by Washington this month.
Corruption concerns have also reportedly fueled resistance among EU
member states, including Germany and France, to Kiev’s early accession
to the bloc. Zelensky has insisted that Ukraine should be admitted as
soon as 2027.
“Ukraine is just not ready and has rampant corruption,” an unnamed Western European official told Reuters.
Zelensky told the BBC last month that “it is a lie that there is more corruption in Ukraine than in any other European state.”
In
November, the Western-backed National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU)
uncovered a $100 million kickback scheme involving Ukraine’s state
nuclear operator Energoatom. The ring was allegedly led by businessman
Timur Mindich, a close associate of Zelensky, who fled the country hours
before his properties were raided. The scandal led to the resignations
of several high-ranking officials, including Energy Minister German
Galushchenko, and Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andrey Yermak.
In
January, NABU also exposed an alleged vote-rigging scheme involving more
than 40 sitting MPs, who reportedly received cash bribes in exchange
for legislative votes. A number of other corruption schemes have also
come to light in Ukraine over the past several months.