A number of senior Ukrainian officials resigned or were fired on January 24 as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pledged to eradicate corruption from his administration amid a high-profile graft scandal that is threatening to erode the so-far staunch Western support for the leadership in Kyiv.
The shake-ups came as at least three civilians were killed amid heavy continued heavy fighting in the east, where Ukrainian forces face “around-the-clock” indiscriminate Russian shelling.
Early on January 24, the deputy head of the presidential administration, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, announced on January 24 that he had tendered his resignation to Zelenskiy.
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“I thank the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy for the trust and the opportunity to do good deeds every day and every minute,” Tymoshenko wrote on the Telegram messaging, adding, “Thank you to the armed forces for saving and defending our country.”
Shortly after Tymoshenko’s announcement, Deputy Defense Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov, who was responsible for supplying troops with food and equipment, also resigned, citing “media accusations” of corruption.
A statement on the Defense Ministry’s website said that Shapovalov’s resignation was “a worthy deed” tha would help retain trust in the ministry.
Also on January 24, Deputy Prosecutor-General Oleksiy Symonenko was fired in what the Prosecutor-General’s Office said was a shake-up of senior officials.
A statement announcing his dismissal gave no reason for the decision but said it had been “according to his own wish.”
The departures of the three officials came after Zelenskiy announced late on January 23 that he would make personnel changes at senior and lower levels, following the most high-profile graft scandal engulfing Ukraine since Russia’s invasion.
“There are already personnel decisions — some today, some tomorrow — regarding officials at various levels in ministries and other central government structures, as well as in the regions and in law enforcement,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly address.
The corruption scandal broke on January 22, when the Defense Ministry was accused by an investigative newspaper of overpaying suppliers for troops’ food. The supplier has said a technical mistake was to blame and no extra money had been given. The ministry said the accusations were baseless.
The same day, Ukraine’s deputy infrastructure minister was detained on suspicion of receiving a $400,000 bribe over the importation of generators in September, an allegation he denies.
The scandal comes as European allies are arguing about giving Ukraine German-made Leopard 2 tanks that Kyiv says it needs to break through Russian lines and recapture territory.
Germany had initially showed reluctance both to providing such tanks to Kyiv itself or allowing third countries that have Leopard tanks to send them to Ukraine.
But Berlin has come under intense pressure from Ukraine and several NATO allies to change its position and allow the export of the Leopards.
On January 22, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Berlin would not stand in Poland’s way if it chose to ask for re-export permission, while on January 23, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Germany was not blocking the export of the tanks.
“From what I understand, Germany is not going to ban the export of these weapons if any EU country that has them wishes to do so,” he said.
On January 23, the German defense group Rheinmetall said it could deliver 139 Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine if required.
Rheinmetall said it could deliver 29 Leopard 2A4 tanks by April or May and another 22 of the same model around the end of the year or in early 2024.
It could also supply 88 older Leopard 1 tanks, a Rheinmetall spokesperson said, without offering a time frame for delivery.
On the battlefield, Ukraine’s General Staff said in its January 24 report that it repelled Russian attacks in 11 locations in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, with enemy fire concentrated mainly in the Bakhmut and Avdiyivka directions, where heavy fighting has been under way for months.
The head of the Donetsk regional military administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said three people were killed and three were wounded by Russian shelling.
“On January 23, the Russians killed three residents of the Donetsk region: in Novopokrovskiy, Paraskoviyivka, and Chasovoy Yar,” Kyrylenko said.
Russian forces also continued shelling Ukrainian positions in Zaporizhzhya, Kherson, and Lyman, the General Staff said.
Front lines have been largely unchanged for two months despite heavy losses on both sides and incessant Russian bombardments.
“Enemy shelling and attacks are occurring round the clock,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video message on January 23.
“But the battle for Donbas goes on. And the battle for the south goes on. We see how Russia is massing its forces and we know how to respond,” he added.
