"I was surprised". Putin mocks Ukraine

Vladimir Putin issued a statement on Friday, asserting that the scale of corruption in Ukraine surpasses all others worldwide. He also touched upon his interactions with Ukrainian leaders. "I was surprised," he said.

During a meeting with new members of the Russian Public Chamber, Putin highlighted: "We are battling severe problems in Russia. We're grappling with corruption both domestically and globally, but corruption in Ukraine seemingly has a life of its own."

He emphasized his close relationship with former Ukrainian leaders, accusing them of buying votes in the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court. "Trust me, I had intimate interactions with former [Ukrainian] leaders. They have control of everything: votes in the Supreme Court, votes in the Constitutional Court," claimed Putin.

Putin reminisced about his conversations with these leaders on various issues. He recalled their responses to him: “We will handle this, that's the cost”. Putin voiced his surprise at this attitude, stating that when he questioned, "Is this the done thing here?!" he was met with the response: "Well, yes, that's how things are here."

Pointing out an example of corruption in Ukraine, Russia's president alluded to the arms trade. "They now claim - firearms from Ukraine are surfacing in the Middle East. Of course, they are, because they're being sold," Putin noted, alleging that Ukraine even sells arms to the Taliban, a practice forbidden in Russia. "These [weapons] are proliferating everywhere," he added.

In his depiction of the situation, Putin claimed: "Everything here is up for sale"

He then shifted focus to the living conditions in Novorossiya and Donbas (territories of Ukraine occupied by Russia), insisting that corruption is rampant. "We must continually propagate our standards while respecting society and its inhabitants," he proclaimed.

Interestingly, Putin's indignation about corruption seems paradoxical given that he incarcerated Alexey Navalny, one of his main political critics known for extensively documenting corruption within the Russian government. Navalny's organization also exposed Putin's own extraordinary wealth, among other things.