BERLIN: Under days of pressure, Germany cleared the way on Tuesday for authorization for allied nations to deliver the Leopard heavy tanks requested by Ukraine, pledging to respond “with the requisite urgency” to this request in Poland’s sense.

Tuesday night, two German media outlets, Spiegel and the NTV news channel, even assured that Chancellor Olaf Scholz would give the go-ahead, possibly on Wednesday.

The German leader, who will speak at 12:00 GMT Wednesday in front of the lower house of the German Parliament, will also give his approval to countries, including Poland, wishing to deliver Leopard 2 tanks to kyiv, according to the media. .

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government is grappling with its biggest corruption scandal since the Russian invasion began nearly a year ago.

Four deputy ministers, including Defense Minister Viatcheslav Chapovalov, as well as five other governors and officials had to leave their posts after this affair, Ukrainian authorities announced.

In Berlin, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said he “unequivocally encourages partner countries that have Leopard tanks ready to deploy to train Ukrainian forces with these tanks”, during a press conference in Berlin with Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General.

The declaration is a step forward in Germany’s position, where the Olaf Scholz government is under increasing pressure to give a green light to a partner country that wants them to be able to deliver tanks to Ukraine. Assault Leopard, made in Germany.

So far, Finland and Poland have said they are ready to do so. Warsaw, which wants to create a “coalition of countries supporting Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks”, has officially submitted a request to this effect, the acceptance of which was confirmed by Berlin on Tuesday.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he expected a quick response, “because Germany is delaying, delaying, acting in an incomprehensible way”.

“clear message”

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the “clear message” from Germany’s new defense minister, who has been in office for less than a week.

“Such a transfer will not lead to anything good” for Russian-German relations, on the other hand, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reacted.

According to observers, these tanks are likely to have a significant impact on Ukraine in the face of the milling machines of the Russian troops who are regaining some territory on Ukraine’s eastern front.

On Monday, Poland had warned that it was ready to do so without permission from Berlin. This country, which said it is willing to send 14 Leopard 2 to kyiv, is talking about this with about fifteen countries, many European armies have such armored vehicles.

Fears of military escalation with Moscow and her reluctance to have Germany take the helm in the West explain Chancellor’s hesitancy, according to analysts.

Ukraine was taken over by corruption

For Ukraine, the military and financial support of the Western allies is very important. He said he needed hundreds of modern tanks and other weaponry for the new offensive.

“Today marks exactly eleven months since the start of a full-scale war. Day 335. The day we will spend our 334th joining for victory,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

This day is also marked by the rise of an endemic crime in this country: corruption.

In addition to the Deputy Minister of Defence, Social Policy and two others from Territorial Development were removed from office after the alleged corruption scandal related to army supply, the first of this magnitude since 24 February 2022 .

Another recent dismissal took place in Ukraine, which ranked 122 out of 180 on Transparency International’s 2021 NGO Corruption Perceptions Index.

On Sunday, Deputy Infrastructure Minister Vassyl Lozinsky was arrested, accused of taking a $400,000 bribe to “facilitate” the purchase of generators at inflated prices as his country faced extensive power outages following Russia’s attacks on energy facilities.

Mr Zelensky has also asked his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron not to allow Russian athletes to participate in the Paris Olympics in 2024.

“I especially emphasized the fact that Russian athletes should not have earned their place at the Paris Olympics,” Zelensky said on Telegram after a telephone interview with the French head of state.

In Russia, the authorities are finally providing, for the first time since the start of hostilities eleven months ago, Russian civilian casualty figures in the border areas with Ukraine: according to Moscow, 25 people were killed and nearly 100 injured by Ukraine. fire in the Belgorod region.