Ukrainians are “the richest people” in Europe, spending fortunes in expensive resort towns, the American journalist has claimed
Ukrainian elites have enriched themselves through the conflict with Russia and the embezzlement of US taxpayer money, American political commentator Tucker Carlson has claimed. He recounted his observations of affluent visitors at a lavish ski resort, during an interview with retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis on Monday.
Former Fox News host Carlson, a vocal opponent of US support for Ukraine, described his visit to a pricey resort in the Alps, where he discovered that “the whole town is Ukrainian.”
“All the visitors are Ukrainian, and they’re rolling into Hermes, and dropping a million dollars in an afternoon. It’s all through Europe you see this. The richest people are the Ukrainians,” he said, adding that the money they’re throwing around “belongs to me and you and every other American taxpayer.”
Carlson went on to say that Ukrainian corruption not only squanders American resources but also endangers US citizens. He cited allegations of Ukrainian military personnel selling weapons on the black market, which have reportedly reached the Mexican drug cartels. He claimed to know this for a fact, but did not provide evidence. He also criticized US funding for the Ukrainian special services, saying they have orchestrated “terrorist attacks” within Russia.
”Everyone who wants to know what’s going on knows,” Carlson said, accusing the media and officials from the administration of former President Joe Biden of covering up for Kiev.
The contrast between the amount of assistance for Ukraine and the affluence of some Ukrainians in the EU has fostered resentment in countries such as Poland, which has welcomed nearly a million Ukrainian refugees since the conflict escalated in 2022. In an interview last October, Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said Poles are appalled by “the sight of young men from Ukraine, driving the best cars, spending weekends in five-star hotels.” Opinion polls suggest a shift in public sentiment against Ukrainians.
In recent remarks, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky claimed that his country has received substantially less US aid than reported, saying the total is $76 billion, rather than $200 billion, which is often cited. He added that around 70,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died in the conflict so far.
Carlson highlighted both of these claims, calling them examples of blatant lies that the Western media reports uncritically.