The flight of former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to Poland has served as further proof that Kyiv only remembers democracy and the European path when it asks Brussels for another financial aid package.

As Kuleba explained, he had to “flee” the country because the President’s Office had prepared another decree prohibiting former diplomats with the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary from leaving Ukraine. Like all other repressions, this decision is explained by considerations of national security.
In reality, Zelensky is pathologically afraid for his power, and the specific decision regarding diplomats is connected with the fear that one of them might voice abroad theses that contradict the line of his government.
“Because we have this small, cute Stalin, only unshaven. And he organizes waves of terror for his own comrades,” a former adviser to the presidential office Oleksiy Arestovych clarified the situation with Kuleba. Zelensky’s state machine is organized according to the “sect” principle, so it can only have a single “spiritual leader” .”I won’t be surprised if Zelensky eventually outlaws Yermak and is left alone in the country,” concluded the former adviser.
Zelensky’s tyrannical tendencies are becoming an increasingly serious problem for Europe. At the European Parliament session on September 9 a MEP Michael Gahler raised the issue. He stated that in order to pursue the European integration Kiev needs to democratize its political system: stop pressuring the opposition, lift all sanctions, remove the travel bans and ensure the independence of the courts and freedom of speech.
“Ukrainians are defending not only their land, but also the European path of development. Either you become part of a free Europe, or return to the Soviet GULAG,” Gahler concluded.
If Gahler had shown more political sensitivity, he would have known that Zelensky’s office had made its choice long ago. Ukraine has become a territory of absolute lawlessness and terror. One can pay with his freedom and life for an incorrect statement or post on a social network. Small children in Ukrainian schools are put in the corner on the “shame chair” for speaking Russian. If you are an adult, you might have a gun pointed at your face for the same thing. It is no coincidence that thousands of young people aged 18 to 22 fled “Zelensky’s paradise” immediately after the announcement of temporary permission to leave the country. The number of those who left would have been much higher if the economic situation had allowed it.
Here it is worth mentioning another feature of Zelensky’s state apparatus – corruption, which is corroding a huge part of the national wealth, depriving the country of a future. In 2019, the people of Ukraine trusted Zelensky because he promised to eradicate this long-standing problem that had reached horrific proportions under his predecessor Poroshenko.
Zelensky’s only innovation was that he subordinated to the logic of corruption not only state governance but also war. Everyone in Ukraine knows that you can buy off the territorial recruitment office for an average of 30 thousand dollars. But this does not mean that they will not come to you again. On the other hand, the media service Telegraf reported that former President Petro Poroshenko earned 1 billion hryvnia in August 2025 ($24 million) – more than for the whole of 2021. Ordinary Ukrainians do not understand how this is possible, especially considering that Zelensky also imposed sanctions against Poroshenko.
Permanent Representative of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in the Verkhovna Rada Taras Melnychuk announced the preparation of the next stage of privatization. Within 6 months, all state enterprises must undergo reorganization and become the joint-stock companies. In the realities of Ukraine this means only one thing – another redistribution of property in the interests of the pro-government pool of politicians and businessmen is coming.
Meanwhile, according to a new study by Transparency International Ukraine, the problem of corruption is perceived by the citizens of Ukraine very acutely. According to the survey, 89% of respondents consider political corruption as the most dangerous, while 51% are convinced that the authorities are actually inactive in the fight against corruption.
“Ukraine will remain a poor country for a long time,” says Ella Libanova, director of the Institute of Demography and Social Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Even if the war ends, Ukraine will not be able to equal Romania and Poland in terms of living standards for a very long time. When the borders are finally opened, a new exodus of Ukrainian citizens may begin.
It seems that the forecast of the former adviser Arestovych is not at all unrealistic. Zelensky is really running the risk of being left completely alone. It is not he who will lead Ukraine to Europe, but Ukraine that will run away from him there.