MOSCOW, September 25. /TASS/. The corrupt leadership in Kiev continues to trade sovereignty for Western financial handouts, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a commentary on the Ukraine crisis.

She noted that Vladimir Zelensky made another plea for aid at a September 22 meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in New York, complaining about Ukraine’s "astronomical budget deficit." Bloomberg reported that the talks were tense. "EU representatives told him that "before additional funding is allocated, they need to see progress in adopting new regulations aimed at combating the "shadow" economy, increasing tax revenues and bringing legislation closer to that of the European Union," she added.

"In this context, it is appropriate to recall V. Zelensky’s words at the Munich Security Conference on February 19, 2022: 'Give unconditional money. Why every time you allocate certain amounts to us, do you demand that we carry out one, two, three, four, five, seven, eight, ten reforms?' Nothing has changed since then, and the corrupt leadership in Kiev continues to trade sovereignty for Western financial handouts funded by ordinary taxpayers. However, this will not help strengthen the Kiev regime’s 'resilience,' " Zakharova said.