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Germany has decided to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and allow other countries such as Poland to do so, German newspaper Spiegel reported on January 24.

Two US officials told Reuters on January 24 that the US also appears to be dropping its opposition to sending M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, and an announcement could come as early as this week. The Pentagon did not immediately respond.

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Germany had initially shown reluctance to supply such tanks to Kiev itself or to allow third countries with Leopard tanks to send them to Ukraine.

Germany had come under intense pressure from Ukraine and several NATO allies to allow the export of leopards.

Other allies, for example in Scandinavia, plan to work with Germany to deliver their Leopard tankers to Kiev, Spiegel reports. In the longer term, more tanks could be restored to use, according to the paper.

Ukraine had been clamoring for tanks for the past several months to fight Russian forces that have invaded the country.

The reports came from several high-ranking Ukrainian officials resigned or was fired on January 24, when President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed to root out corruption from his administration amid a high-profile graft scandal that threatens to erode the West’s so-far steadfast support for Kiev’s leadership.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Rafael Grossi also told the European Parliament on January 24 that the inspection of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants did not find the military equipment claimed by Russia.

“The result of these inspections was negative,” Reuters quoted him as telling EU lawmakers.

Grossis’ comments came a day after Russia’s foreign intelligence service (SVR) accused Ukraine of storing Western-supplied weapons at nuclear facilities across the country. Grossi said this was the second time the UN nuclear agency has been able to “reject allegations of illegal and very dangerous things at these facilities.”

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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on January 24 that he is confident that the alliance will soon find a solution to the supply of tanks to Ukraine.

“At this pivotal moment in the war, we need to provide Ukraine with heavier and more sophisticated systems, and we need to do it faster,” Stoltenberg told reporters after talks with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.

On January 23, German defense group Rheinmetall said it could deliver 139 Leopard tanks to Ukraine in the coming months if needed.

The Kremlin, for its part, said that German tank deliveries to Ukraine do not bring “anything good for the future relationship” between Berlin and Moscow. “They will leave a lasting mark,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on January 24.

Early on January 24th, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine, announced on January 24th that he was tendered his resignation Zelensky’s.

“I thank the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky for the trust and the opportunity to do good deeds every day and every minute,” Tymoshenko wrote in a Telegram message, adding: “Thanks to the armed forces for saving and defending our country.”

Shortly after Tymoshenko’s announcement, Deputy Defense Minister Vyacheslav Šapovalov, who was responsible for supplying the troops with food and equipment, also divorcedciting “media accusations” of corruption.

A statement posted on the Ministry of Defense website said Shapovalov’s resignation was a “dignified act” that would help maintain confidence in the ministry.

Deputy public prosecutor Oleksi Symonenko was also dismissed on January 24, according to the Office of the Attorney General, to the shock of leading officials.

A opinion The notice of dismissal did not give a reason for the decision, but said it was “according to his own wishes”.

Two deputy ministers – Vyacheslav Nehoda and Ivan Lukerya – also resigned from the Ministry of Community and Regional Development of Ukraine on January 24.

Nehoda and Lukerya confirmed both moves on their Facebook pages.

The resignations of the three officials came after Zelenski announced in an evening speech on January 23 that he would make personnel changes at the top and bottom levels after Ukraine has been engulfed in the biggest graft scandal since the Russian occupation.

The corruption scandal erupted on January 22 when an investigative newspaper accused the Ministry of Defense of paying too much for food for the troops. The supplier has said that the reason was a technical error and no extra money had been given. According to the ministry, the accusations were unfounded.

On the same day, Ukraine’s Deputy Infrastructure Minister Vasyl Lozynskiy was arrested on suspicion of accepting a $400,000 bribe to import generators in September, which he denies.

Mykhaylo Podolyak, a leading adviser to Zelesnkiy, said the dismissal of the officials was “just the beginning”.

“Society pays a price for war. Many people have lost their incomes, their careers, their homes, but they continue to help the state and the army,” he said, adding that some officials “somehow believe that they are outside of this war, that they can exploit the war, including for their personal purposes .”

On the battlefield, the Ukrainian General Staff said in a report on January 24 that it repulsed Russian attacks In 11 localities in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, enemy fire is concentrated mainly in the direction of Bahmut and Avdiyivka, where fierce battles have been fought for months.

Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of the Donetsk region military administration, said three people was killed and three were wounded by Russian bombing.

“On January 23, the Russians killed three residents of the Donetsk region: in Novopokrovski, Paraskoviyivka and Chasovoy Yar,” Kyrylenko said.

Russian forces also continued shelling Ukrainian positions in Zaporizhzhya, Kherson and Lyman, the General Staff said.

The front lines have remained largely unchanged for two months, despite heavy losses on both sides and constant Russian bombardment.

On the diplomatic front, Zelenskiy met on January 24 The possibility of Finland sending advanced Leopard 2 tanks to their country was discussed with the visiting Finnish President Sauli Niinisö.

Zelensky was quoted as saying that they discussed “creating a separate platform for strengthening Ukraine with armored vehicles, including tanks.”

During his trip, Niinistö visited the sites of attacks on Russian civilians in the suburbs of Borodjanka and Butsa, as well as said that the “Russian atrocities” committed there “must not go unpunished”.

Later in the day, Zelenskiy said on Twitter he had told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that Russian athletes should not have a place at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

He also said that he thank you Macron for the breakthrough decision to deliver light tanks to his country.

This is reported by Reuters and AFP