Are we heading for an agreement? Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks Wednesday, January 25, in front of the German Parliament with, in the key, a possible announcement on the deliveries of heavy Leopard tanks to Ukraine, which demands them insistently to defend against the Russian invasion . On Tuesday, the German defense minister assured that he had “expressly encouraged partner countries that have Leopard tanks ready for deployment to train Ukrainian forces on these tanks”.
“Discussions must end with decisions,” urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday evening. In addition, the Ukrainian head of state added that Russia “is preparing for a new wave of aggression with the forces it can mobilize.”
Olaf Scholz will speak in front of the German Parliament
Two German media, the Spiegel and the NTV news channel, assured that Olaf Scholz, who will speak at 12:00 GMT in front of the lower house of Parliament, will probably give the green light on this occasion to countries, including Poland and Finland, which want to deliver German-made Leopard 2 tanks to kyiv. “Germany is sending Leopard tanks to Ukraine,” tweeted the Liberal Democratic Party (FDP), a member of Olaf Scholz’s government coalition.
The first corruption scandal since the Russian invasion
A series of senior Ukrainian officials were dismissed from their posts on Tuesday in the wake of a corruption scandal over army supplies, the first scandal of this magnitude since the start of the Russian invasion. A total of five regional governors, four deputy ministers and two heads of a government agency will leave their posts, in addition to the deputy head of the presidential administration and the deputy attorney general.
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday evening defended “necessary” decisions to have “a strong state”. “It’s right, it’s necessary for our protection and it helps our rapprochement with the European institutions,” he insisted in his daily address. “All the internal problems that prevent the state from strengthening itself are being resolved and will be even more so” in the future, he underlined.
Two Britons killed in Ukraine
Two Britons who left as volunteers in Ukraine were killed while attempting a “medical evacuation” from the town of Soledar, the scene of intense clashes between Russian and Ukrainian forces, the family of one of them announced on Tuesday. “It is with great sadness that we announce that our beloved Chrissy was killed alongside her colleague Andrew Bagshaw as they attempted a humanitarian evacuation from Soledar in eastern Ukraine,” it said. the family of Christopher Parry in a statement sent by the British Foreign Office.
“He couldn’t resist going to Ukraine in March at the darkest moment at the start of the Russian invasion to help those who needed it most, saving over 400 lives and many abandoned animals.” she added.
Russian athletes should not be able to participate in the Olympics
Russian athletes should not be able to participate in the Paris Olympics in 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, as Russia invaded Ukraine for eleven months. “I particularly insisted on the fact that Russian athletes should not have their place at the Paris Olympics,” Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram after a telephone interview with the French head of state.
Russia invaded Ukraine from its territory and that of Belarus on February 24, three days after the closing ceremony of the Beijing-2022 Winter Games, in violation of the Olympic Truce (which extends from one week before the start of the Olympic Games to one week after the end of the Paralympic Games). The International Olympic Committee (IOC) quickly sanctioned Moscow and Minsk. Since then, no international sporting events are organized or supported in Russia or Belarus and no national symbols of these countries are displayed during a sporting event.