Zelenskiy Releases Personal Income in Transparency Push

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Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraine's president, during a news conference with Edgars Rinkevics, Latvia’s president, at Riga Castle in Riga, Latvia, on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. The US wants Ukraine to sharpen its plan for fighting Russia’s invasion as the war heads into its third year and is expected to raise the issue with Zelenskiy in Davos next week.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy declared his personal income for the first time since the outbreak of war with Russia, as part of his effort to increase transparency in his government.

In 2021, the year before Russia invaded Ukraine, Zelenskiy and his family reported income of 10.8 million hryvnia ($285,000), down 12 million hryvnia from the previous year, even as his income was boosted by the sale of $142,000 of government bonds, according to a statement on his website. 

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In 2022, the first year of the Russian invasion, the Zelenskiy family's income fell further to 3.7 million hryvnia as he earned less income from renting real estate he owned because of the hostilities. 

Even as the war allowed Ukrainian officials to withhold revealing sensitive personal information, Zelenskiy pushed to make them publicly declare assets. Increasing transparency and tackling graft are necessary for his country to ensure continued financial aid from its western allies, even as more than $100 billion of funds are held up due to political maneuvering inside US and EU.

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Read more: Ukraine Foils $40 Million Artillery Shell Embezzlement Scam

Zelenskiy earned far more before entering politics when he was a popular television entertainer and ran a major production company. 

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