The Ukrainian president is cleaning up his ranks. In a context of intensifying fighting in the east and south of the country, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that changes would be made to senior government posts and regional posts. Several senior Ukrainian officials announced their resignations on Tuesday after press revelations of alleged purchases of army supplies at inflated prices, authorities said in the midst of a Russian invasion. This announcement comes in response to allegations of corruption by certain members of power, which could give a bad image of the government in place, at a time when Ukraine needs its Western allies.
For its part, Poland warned on Monday that it was ready to do without the approval of Berlin, undecided on the issue, to deliver German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he was “confident” that a solution will be found “soon”. In the process, the German Minister of Defense indicated on Tuesday that the allies wishing to deliver Leopard tanks to kyiv can “start to train” Ukrainians.
On the ground, Russian forces continue to claim small advances. This Tuesday, the head of NATO declared that there was “no indication” showing that Russia has changed its “objectives”.
Series of resignations in Ukraine after a corruption scandal
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.
“Even if these accusations are unfounded”, the departure of Vyacheslav Shapovalov “will make it possible to preserve the confidence of society and international partners as well as to ensure the objectivity” of efforts to shed light on this affair, assured the ministry. Defense in a statement. These announcements come after the authorities dismissed a Ukrainian deputy infrastructure minister, Vassyl Lozynsky.
Volodymyr Zelensky had said on Monday evening that changes would be made over the next twenty-four hours in senior government and regional positions. In a daily video address, the Ukrainian president said some decisions were made “today (Monday), others tomorrow” regarding positions “of different ranks in ministries and other central government structures. , as well as in the regions and within the forces of order”. The change announcement followed the most high-profile corruption allegations since Russia’s invasion that threaten to dampen Western enthusiasm for the kyiv government, Reuters reports.
“There are already personnel decisions – some today, some tomorrow – concerning civil servants at different levels in ministries and other central government structures, as well as in regions and in law enforcement” , said Volodymyr Zelensky.
Russia claims progress on the ground
On the ground, Russian artillery fire killed a civilian on Monday in Antonivka, a village in the southern region of Kherson, deplored its governor, Yaroslav Yanushevich. The day before, a leader of the local occupation authority installed by Moscow had claimed that the Russian army was advancing towards two localities in the Zaporizhia region, also in the south, where clashes with troops from kyiv had broken out. intensified this week. Monday evening, the staff of the Ukrainian army soberly reported that “on January 20 and 21, the enemy had carried out offensive actions in the sector”, near Mali Chtcherbaky.
In the northeast, in the Sumy region, a young woman died and two others were injured when a house was hit by a shell in Esmanska, while an apartment building was “directly hit” in Vorozhba, according to Ukrainian regional authorities. One of the main leaders of the separatists in eastern Ukraine, Denis Pushilin, meanwhile posted himself in Soledar, a small town which Moscow claimed to have taken more than a week ago. For the Russians, the conquest of this city is a step towards encircling Bakhmout, which they have been trying to conquer since the summer. According to Denis Pushilin, the fighting is “intensifying” there and the Russian soldiers are “advancing”. Ukraine has so far not officially acknowledged the loss of Soledar, now that fighting continues in its western part.
According to Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the military administration of Donetsk oblast, near Bakhmout, one person died in a Russian bombardment late Monday evening, January 23. At least two others are injured in this apartment building.
Anger in Poland and the Baltic States
Poland and the Baltic countries strongly denounced Monday the remarks of the Czech presidential candidate, Andrej Babis, who assured that elected, he would not send soldiers to help them within the framework of the collective defense of NATO. . The billionaire will face retired general Petr Pavel, former head of NATO’s military command, in the second round of the election on January 27 and 28. Asked during a televised debate on Sunday about the possibility of sending soldiers if Poland or the Baltic countries were attacked, Andrej Babis replied: “No, certainly not”.
Article 5 of the NATO treaty obliges its member states to come to the aid of one of them in the event of an attack. “I want peace. I don’t want a war. And under no circumstances will I send our children and the children of our wives to war,” continued the former prime minister. He later tweeted that he never questioned Article 5 and that his statements were truncated. “The statements of Andrej Babis […] are absurd and dangerous. They instil doubts about trust and cooperation with NATO”, reacted the president of the Peasant Party PSL (opposition), the Pole Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz. “In the Kremlin, they can start popping the champagne”, a- he added.
Estonia and Latvia expel Russian ambassadors
Estonia and Latvia announced on Monday the expulsion of Russian ambassadors to their respective countries, after the similar decision taken a few hours earlier by Moscow with regard to the Estonian ambassador. The third Baltic country, Lithuania, announced in October the expulsion of the Russian charge d’affaires, due to “inconsistent actions and statements, after declaring the country’s ambassador “persona non grata” in April.
“We respect the principle of reciprocity in relations with Russia,” the Estonian Foreign Ministry said in a tweet on Monday, stressing that the Russian ambassador should leave Estonia on the same day as his diplomat Russia, i.e. February 7. Russia announced the expulsion of the Estonian ambassador on Monday, denouncing Tallinn’s “total Russophobia”, following the expulsion earlier in January of 21 Russian diplomats and other Russian embassy employees.