Ukraine Update…320 days into the Russian move on the Ukraine…Internal Corruption issue for the Ukraine again….

Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.

For Ukraine, what’s so special about Germany’s Leopard 2 tanks?

• Zelensky said Ukrainian officials would not be permitted to travel abroad for vacation or any reason other than work. “If they want to rest now, they will rest outside the civil service,” he said in his nightly address, while also promising a personnel shake-up after the emergence of corruption allegations involving food procurement and the private use of vehicles. Some of the allegations have been denied by officials — however any graft could undermine the confidence of Western nations that have kept the country alive with donated weapons and billions in economic assistance.
• Oleksandr Novikov, the head of Ukraine’s National Agency on Corruption Prevention, said the swift measures were necessary as Ukrainians expect their leaders to be taking part in the shared national sacrifice the war has demanded of them.“Despite the war, Ukrainians became more intolerant of corrupt practices and more inclined to behavior of integrity,” he told The Washington Post. “Before the war, only 40% of Ukrainians believed that corruption cannot be justified under any circumstances, now – 64%.” Some anti-corruption activists in the country also hailed the firings as a necessary step that will send a message to others in government. “It is an overall healthy sign,” said Daria Kaleniuk, executive director of Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Action Center.
• Some in the Ukrainian government had for many months complained about what they saw as a pattern of corruption, said a Ukrainian official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. He predicted Tuesday that Zelensky’s moves marked “just the beginning.”
• U.S. official fears sweeping staff removals may prompt Ukraine critics in United States. One senior U.S. official said Tuesday there are no concerns “at this point” that the news could pressurize the U.S. relationship with Ukraine. But the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, indicated there are concerns about how it will refract in Washington.“There is a 100 percent chance that those who are already prone to repeating Kremlin talking points via social media, and willing prime time talk show hosts, will use this to fuel their isolationist ideologies,” the senior official told The Post.

• Poland’s defense minister said Tuesday that he had sought official consent to send the German-made weaponsto the Ukrainian front lines. The German government confirmed Tuesday it had received the request and said applications for approval would be examined in accordance with procedure and with the necessary urgency. About 2,000 of the tanks are scattered across Europe, and the German government must sign off on transfers by any countries that use them.
• Russia suggested that any agreement by Germany to send Leopard 2 tanks would adversely affect future relations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday that “the relationship is already at a fairly low point,” between Berlin and Moscow. “Such supplies do not bode well for future relations,” he added. “They will certainly leave an imminent mark on the future of this relationship.”

• Finland’s foreign minister suggested his country might have to consider joining NATO without its ally Sweden. Relations have soured between Sweden and NATO member Turkey, including after protests in Stockholm that involved the burning of a copy of the Quran. The Nordic nations applied to join the alliance last year after the war broke out but need the backing of all existing members. Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told broadcaster YLE that Finland must be “ready to reevaluate the situation,” but later stressed to reporters that the two allies were still “trying to progress this together.” Haavisto also told Reuters: “A timeout is needed before we return to the three-way talks and see where we are when the dust has settled.”
• Charles McGonigal, the FBI’s former top spy hunter in New York, is charged with taking secret cash payments of more than $225,000 while overseeing highly sensitive cases and breaking the law by trying to get Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska removed from a U.S. sanctions list. The case has shocked the U.S. intelligence community.
• Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny says the Kremlin is trying to break him in jail. Navalny, who was once poisoned with the banned nerve agent Novichok, is serving 11½ years in a Russian penal colony for fraud and violating parole, charges widely viewed as politically motivated. He says he is under an ultra-strict regime involving sleep deprivation, isolation, weight loss and harassment as he accuses the Kremlin of trying to silence him…..

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