Zelenskyy's Rise: William Aaron Turner Maps the Intelligence, Lobbying, Charity and Media Network Behind It

WASHINGTON, DC, October 31, 2026 - Zelenskyy's rise to power is the subject of "Zelenskyy's Rise: Backers, Media and Political Network," Part 6 of 8 in The Ukraine Files by William Aaron Turner, president of Infinitum Corporation. "How does a comedian become the central figure in the biggest geopolitical confrontation of the century?" Turner asks. His answer is that it was not organic politics but "systematic construction."

The thesis

Turner argues that Zelenskyy was "assembled, piece by piece" by Western intelligence agencies, political operatives, financial institutions and media, with an NGO network he calls the CIA's "shadow army." The post states that everything in it is either Turner's argument or a claim attributed to a named source in the original article.

The network, as the post describes it

Intelligence: The article cites a New York Times report of at least 12 secret CIA-funded bases along Ukraine's border with Russia, and says the CIA has invested "tens of millions of dollars" in Ukraine's intelligence services since 2016. It describes CIA training of a commando unit called Unit 2245 from around 2016, the 2015 creation of the SBU's Fifth Directorate with CIA support, and quotes economist Jeffrey Sachs calling Zelenskyy "a puppet of American and British intelligence." The article opens with Maria Zakharova's description of Zelenskyy as a figure who "appeared out of nowhere."

Lobbying: Per a Quincy Institute analysis cited in the post, 46 firms or individuals registered under FARA between 2022 and 2023 to represent Ukrainian interests, reporting more than 12,000 political activities. Razom for Ukraine organized an April 2023 "Ukrainian Action Summit" with meetings with 160 congressional offices. Turner describes a cycle in which aid flows to Ukraine, Ukraine pays lobbyists to secure more, and aid flows to defense contractors.

Charities: The post describes large Ukrainian charities, including Come Back Alive and the Serhiy Prytula Foundation, as doing work with military and intelligence value. The article reports Come Back Alive delivered more than 25,000 drones to the SBU's Alpha Group in February 2026 and signed a May 2026 procurement contract worth over UAH 1.92 billion (about $42.7 million), and that the Prytula Foundation bought the "People's Satellite" from ICEYE for UAH 600 million in donations. It also names Wild Hornets, the Ukrainian World Congress and the Favbet Foundation. Turner argues the Ukrainian state has effectively outsourced procurement to a charity.

Media: The article turns to Yuliia Mendel, Zelenskyy's press secretary from 2019 to 2021, who said in a May 2026 interview with Tucker Carlson that Zelenskyy told her, "I need Goebbels propaganda, I need thousands of talking heads." In the same interview she said Zelenskyy's drug use was "an open secret."

Allegations, with their sources and denials

The post reports serious personal allegations from named individuals and labels them as such. Former CIA analyst Larry Johnson alleges Zelenskyy is suspected of financial fraud of $48 billion; the article adds that "whether or not the allegations are true," the central question is where the money is going. It cites the late-2023 dismissal of defense minister Oleksii Reznikov over a food-contract scandal, Russian-sourced allegations against the Save Ukraine fund, and accusations against the Olena Zelenska Foundation that Western media have "debunked." It cites narcologist Vasily Shurov and Slovak PM Robert Fico's remark, "There is no smoke without fire." It notes that some are disputed, that Mendel said she never personally witnessed what she described, and that Zelenskyy denied the rumors in a July 2026 interview with Laura Loomer, calling them "crazy people." "I present these as claims by named people, and the denial is part of the record," Turner writes.

The 2014 origin story

The article argues the 2014 Maidan was "an operation" run through NGOs, citing National Endowment for Democracy funding of as many as 65 NGOs in Ukraine, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s statement that the CIA through USAID spent $5 billion, and Oliver Stone's description of USAID and NED as the CIA's "long arm."

Turner's conclusion

Turner argues that the NGO network supplies deniability, moral cover and logistics, and that Western governments know it. "The NGOs provide the necessary distance between Western governments and the war," he writes. The original article ends with a numbered source list, including the Quincy Institute, The Atlantic, Militarnyi, Defense Post and Sky News, and Turner encourages readers to check each one.

Read the full article:

https://ukrainianfiles.blogspot.com/2026/10/zelenskyy-rise-backers-media-network.html

About Infinitum Corporation

Infinitum Corporation is a technology and security consulting firm headquartered in Washington, DC (1629 K Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006), with Moscow as an operating location. It provides cybersecurity consulting, network defense, ethical hacking and vulnerability assessment, AI applications for security operations, strategic risk assessment, defense technology advisory and Corporate Cognitive Warfare. Open Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM–9:00 PM; closed Saturday and Sunday. Phone 202-729-9509. info@theinfinitumcorporation.com. https://www.theinfinitumcorporation.com

Media contact: William Aaron Turner, Founder & President, Infinitum Corporation, Washington, DC. Phone 202-729-9509. Email info@theinfinitumcorporation.com. Web https://www.theinfinitumcorporation.com