As the Zelensky worship reaches fever pitch, it's worth looking back

MAZE
@mazemoore
As the Zelensky worship reaches fever pitch, it's worth looking back at how this "Churchill" became President.

Here's a 2019 video from RFERL on then candidate Zelensky and his oligarch backer, Ihor Kolomoisky. Don't expect our media to ever cover this.

Ihor Kolomoisky is a Ukrainian born Israeli businessman who held Israeli, Ukrainian, and Cypriot citizenship, even though dual citizenship is generally not permitted in Ukraine. In 1992 he and his partner started PrivatBank. At one point the bank handled 30% of all deposits in Ukraine. Kolomoisky quickly became one of the richest men in Ukraine. He was also completely corrupt.

Kolomoisky stole billions from PrivatBank. He would transfer the money to subsidiary PrivatBank Cyprus and from there, launder it all over the world, including the U.S. Although not all of it was stolen, approximately $470 billion was moved from his bank in Ukraine to PrivatBank Cyprus over the years.

In late 2016, after PrivatBank began crumbling and much of the country faced substantial loses, the government of Ukraine took over PrivatBank and nationalized it. Shortly after, Kolomoisky left Ukraine.

Kolomoisky also financed and directed militia groups in Eastern Ukraine. He founded and controlled the Dnipro Battalion and funded the Azov Brigade. He even used militia in an attempt to gain control of an oil company.

Kolomoisky owned the media company that broadcast Zelensky's TV show. He was the main backer of Zelensky's campaign for President. Almost immediately after Zelensky became President, Kolomoisky returned to Ukraine and managed to avoid extradition. After becoming President, Zelensky removed numerous officials who were deemed threats to Kolomoisky's interests.

The Pandora Papers leak in 2021 showed that Zelensky had a network of offshore companies holding millions in assets. The offshore companies were also used to buy pricey London real estate. Although it hasn't been conclusively proven, it has been alleged that $41 million of the money in the offshore accounts came directly from PrivatBank. After the PP leak, Zelensky claimed that he had handed over his shares of the offshore network to a partner, but records show that Zelensky's wife continued to receive payments from the accounts.

After pressure from our government and others, Zelensky began to separate himself from Kolomoisky. In September of 2023 Kolomoisky was arrested in Ukraine and is still being detained, pending trial.

You will not see any of this in stories by our media on Zelensky. Instead they tell us that Zelensky is above reproach, someone we should have no problem giving a blank check to.