The deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said on Tuesday that he had asked President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday to relieve him of his duties as part of a wave of government resignations and dismissals. The move comes amid a corruption scandal that has seen Deputy Infrastructure Vasyl Lozinski sacked and detained for Alleged theft of $400,000 from the Winter Aid budget. Tymoshenko, 33, has been deputy head of the presidential office since 2019, overseeing district and regional policies. He also worked with Zelenskiy during his election campaign, overseeing media and creative content.
Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Vyacheslav Shapovalov, responsible for supplying the troops with food and equipment, also resigned, citing “media accusations” of corruption that he and the ministry say are unfounded. A statement on the Defense Ministry’s website said Shapovalov’s resignation was a “worthy act” that would help maintain confidence in the ministry.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Oleksiy Simonenko He was removed from office, according to the Prosecutor General’s Office, and two deputy ministers from the Ministry of Communities and Land Development of Ukraine resigned – Vyacheslav Negoda And Ivan Lukerya. Reportedly, the heads of five regional authorities, V.I DnepropetrovskAnd ZaporizhiaAnd KyivAnd Sumy And Kherson.
Ukrainian presidential advisor, Mykhailo Podolyak, He said the change of staff today showed Zelensky He was reacting to a “major general demand” that justice should apply to all. “Zelensky’s personnel decisions testify to the main priorities of the state. The president sees and hears society. And he responds directly to a major public demand – justice for all.”
Zelensky He had said on Monday that imminent changes would be announced in the government, regions and in the security forces after allegations of corruption nearly a year after the Russian invasion.
Germany received now PolandOfficial application to re-export Leopard tanks to UkrainePolish Minister of Defense Marius Blaszczak He said.
The final decision on whether Germany A senior foreign ministry official said on Tuesday that permission would be taken at the chancellery in Berlin. “At the end of the day, it is clear that the decision will be taken in the chancellery, unanimously by the government,” Tobias Lindnersaid the State Department’s Secretary of State at a defense conference in Berlin.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, after meeting with the German Defense Minister on Tuesday, that Jens Stoltenberg is confident that the alliance will find a solution soon. “At this pivotal moment in the war, we must provide heavier and more advanced systems to Ukraine, and we must do so faster,” Stoltenberg said.
New German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius He said there was no disagreement among the allies over sending heavy battle tanks to Ukraine and said Berlin would act quickly if there was a positive decision to do so. However, he stressed that NATO should not become a party to the war in Ukraine.
German defense group Rheinmetall could deliver 139 Leopard tanks to Ukraine if necessary, A company spokesperson told RND Media Group on Monday.
The Kremlin warned on Monday that the people of Ukraine will “pay the price” if the West decides to send tanks to support Kyiv. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said divisions in Europe over the provision of tanks to Kyiv show that there is growing “tension” within NATO. Peskov too Washington’s declaration was rejected It was planning to impose sanctions on the Russian private mercenary Wagner Group.
FinlandMinister of Foreign Affairs Becca Haavisto He indicated a possible pause in discussions with Turkey over Finland’s ambitions to join NATO alongside Sweden, which he says is due to pressure from the upcoming Turkish elections.
Josep Borrell, EU foreign policy chief, outlined the new EU military aid package to Ukraine worth 500 million euros, after the meeting of the 27 EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday. the Package It was accepted Along with another 45 million euros For the European Union Military Training Mission to Ukraine. Hungary’s foreign minister, Peter Sijarto, said his country would not block the EU’s move.
Russiaambassador in EstoniaAnd Vladimir Libaevand accused the West of arming the Baltic state with weapons that could hit St. Petersburg.
Russian forces continue to “endure operational stalemate and heavy losses,” according to the UK Ministry of Defense. Ministry of Defense intelligence update Also Monday, he said new disciplinary measures introduced by Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s chief of the general staff and newly appointed commander in Ukraine, had been met with “skeptical reactions”, particularly in response to the decision to ban soldiers from wearing beards.
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said Moscow was ready to negotiate with Ukraine in the early months of the war, but the United States and other Western countries advised Kyiv not to do so. Lavrov was talking during his visit to South Africa On Monday, he met the foreign minister, Naledi Pandor, a month before the South African military was set to host a joint military exercise with Russia and China on its east coast. On Tuesday, Lavrov visited Eswatini.
On Monday, Germany began transferring its Patriot air defense systems to Polish territory, near the Ukrainian border, Where they will be deployed to prevent stray missile strikes. Berlin offered to deploy three of its Patriot units to Poland This came after two men were killed by a Ukrainian missile that hit a Polish village Preziodo In November.
The police have arrested Andrei Medvedev, the former leader of the Russian Wagner mercenary group who recently fled to Norway, he he told the Guardian on Monday. Medvedev’s Norwegian lawyer, Brynjolf Resens, said police decided to arrest Medvedev on Sunday night after a “strong disagreement” with the former Wagner soldier over living conditions in the safe house he had been living in since his arrival in Norway.
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