LIVE – Ukraine: five governors and four deputy ministers dismissed

CORRUPTION SCANDAL

Five regional governors and four Ukrainian deputy ministers have been removed from their posts, the government announced on Tuesday in response to an alleged corruption scandal that has stained the army.

According to Taras Melnytchouk, government representative to Parliament, the governors of the regions of Dnipropetrovsk (center), Zaporijjia (south), Sumy (north), Kherson (south) and the capital kyiv will leave their posts. The Deputy Minister of Defence, that of Social Policy and two Deputy Ministers of Territorial Development have been dismissed.

WARSAW INCREASES PRESSURE

The Polish Minister of Defense announced that he had asked Germany for its agreement to be able to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine, where Russian forces continue to claim advances on the ground.

“Germany has already received our request,” Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Twitter, also appealing to Berlin to join “the coalition of countries supporting Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks.”

“NOTHING GOOD”

Deliveries of German tanks to Ukraine would not bode “no good for the Russian-German relationship”, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Preskov, as Germany is under pressure to agree. According to him, the validation of tank deliveries “would leave an indelible mark”.

UKRAINIANS TRAINED IN THE USE OF LEOPARD TANKS

Germany’s defense minister says allies wanting to deliver Leopard tanks to kyiv can ‘start training’ Ukrainians, as Germany has been under pressure to allow the tanks to be donated to Ukraine .

A SOLUTION FOR TANKS?

The NATO chief said there were “no indications” that Russia had changed its “aims” as a Russian offensive is underway in eastern Ukraine. Concerning the tanks claimed by Ukraine, but whose donation must be validated by Germany, which has not yet responded, Jens Stoltenberg said he was “confident”, judging that a solution will be “soon” found.

CORRUPTION SCANDAL

Several senior Ukrainian officials announced their resignations on Tuesday after press revelations of alleged purchases of supplies for the army at inflated prices.

Among the officials who resigned are Deputy Defense Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov, who was in charge of logistical support for the armed forces, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Kyrylo Tymoshenko and Deputy Prosecutor General Oleksiy Simonenko.

HELPING kyiv “WIN” THE WAR

“We support Ukraine so that it does not lose, so that it wins this war against Russia,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in an interview with German television ZDF.

“Germany is doing more for this than any ally, with the exception of the United States”, he assured, while the German government is called upon to authorize its NATO allies to deliver to Ukraine Leopard heavy tanks, German-made.

FINLAND WITHOUT SWEDEN IN NATO?

If a joint membership of the two Nordic countries is still desired, said the head of Finnish diplomacy Pekka Haavisto on public television Yle, he did not rule out the option of NATO membership without Sweden .

“Obviously we have to assess the situation, if something has happened that in the long term Sweden can no longer move forward,” he said, shortly after Turkish President Erdogan ruled out a green light from ‘Ankara to the Swedish candidacy. The head of diplomacy nevertheless judged that it was still “too early to take a position”.

UPDATE ON THE SITUATION

On this 335th day of war, find in the article below all the information related to the conflict led by Russia in Ukraine over the past 24 hours.

GREATER BORDER CONTROL?

In any case, amendments tabled in the Duma go in this direction. According to some, consulted by the BBC, anyone leaving or entering Russia by car will have to book a specific date and time in advance. If approved by lawmakers, the new system could come into effect as early as March 1.

RESIDENCES UNDER VERY HIGH SURVEILLANCE

Hello everyone, and welcome to this new direct dedicated to the war in Ukraine. Follow with us the information of this Tuesday, January 24.