The US talk-show host Tucker Carlson recently interviewed journalist Yulia Manuel about the Ukraine war. She is President Volodymir Zelenskyy’s former press secretary and confirmed rumours of massive corruption, drug abuse, astounding narcissism and erratic decision-making involving him.

Zelenskyy’s former Chief of staff, Yermak, was recently arrested for money-laundering and a long-time close associate, Mindich, fled to Israel to also avoid arrest for corruption.

The amount of money provided to Ukraine is staggering. Truckloads are being stolen. Britain alone has provided £21.8billion, £13.06billion of which is in military aid. This when we are cutting public services and when the British Military budget itself totals just £62.2billion!

Yulia also outlined media manipulation to give the impression that Ukraine is winning the war. Is it ignorance, stupidity, mendacity or good-old propaganda that leads some people to promote this view? She confirmed the tragic reality.

The casualty figures reported in British media are those provided by Ukraine to give the impression that it is victorious so that on-going support from British and European taxpayers can be secured. Rare limited Ukrainian advances on sections of the long battlefront are exaggerated to give the impression it is ‘winning’. The UK DSMA (Defence and Security Media Advisory Committee) uncritically reproduce Ukrainian figures of Russian casualties that are pure invention. Both sides lie. Nobody knows the real figures.

However, one indication of casualties that we do have is the repatriation of bodies, certified by both sides. In 2025, 14 exchanges were carried out with 14,480 Ukrainian bodies returned as against 391 Russian. In the first quarter of this year, 3000 dead Ukrainians were returned for 114 Russian. Because Russia is generally advancing on the battlefield some of this is understandable – but the sheer discrepancy indicates which side is taking the greatest casualties.

This conflict is in part a civil war in east Ukraine where pro-Russian civilians are a majority. The strategy of the Russians is to use attritional warfare tactics along the huge 800mile battle front to reduce their casualties.

It is slow because the battlefield is now dominated by drones. Heavy fighting vehicles don’t survive long. It is literally house to house fighting with heavy artillery and precision bombing by the Russians paving the way.

Why will ‘the west’ not negotiate an end to this conflict? First, it wants to weaken Russia in the anticipation that Europe will soon be involved in a full-scale war and so needs time to re-arm. Second, within Ukraine, corrupt politicians are making fortunes from war.

Ukrainians are aware of the strategy of the Europeans to ‘fight to the last Ukrainian’ and are bitter about it, but the country is trapped between a leadership mired in corruption and cheerleaders from countries that want to see the war kept going.

People are literally being indiscriminately press ganged off the streets and into the Ukrainian military and onto the battlefield with little preparation.

Ukraine is being crushed by the Russian boa-constrictor. It is ordinary Ukrainians – as Yulia Manuel testifies – who pay the price.