Reported by: Michael Schwirtz and Maria Varenikova

Several top Ukrainian officials were fired on Tuesday amid a ballooning corruption scandal, in the biggest upheaval in President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government since Russia’s invasion began 11 months ago.

Ukraine’s cabinet ministry, which announced the firings, provided no reasons for them, but they followed a number of allegations of government corruption — including reports that Ukraine’s military had agreed to pay inflated prices for food meant for its troops — and vows by Mr. Zelensky to root it out.

The shake-up came as Ukraine is lobbying hard for Western countries to provide advanced weaponry like tanks. The German publication Der Spiegel and other news outlets reported on Tuesday that Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany had agreed, after months of resisting, to supply the coveted Leopard 2 tank to Ukraine, possibly in conjunction with the United States sending its M1 Abrams tank. The reports could not be independently confirmed.

As the war nears the one-year mark, no issue is more critical for Ukraine’s continued survival than the flow of military aid from the United States and other Western allies — so far about $40 billion worth of weapons and other gear. Republicans in the U.S. Congress have called for an audit of how the aid is used, and some have said it is excessive and should be restricted.

Even a whiff of corruption could be enough to slow what has been essentially an open spigot of arms, and billions more in humanitarian support and financial aid. Few are more sensitive to this than Mr. Zelensky, who appears almost daily on video calls with foreign leaders and legislatures dressed in a drab green military shirt, always asking for the same thing: more weapons.

There was no sign that the Ukrainian army’s food procurement scandal involved the misappropriation of Western military assistance, or would affect Ukraine’s ability to fight the Russian invasion. But the removal of the officials, coming amid almost daily pleas from Ukraine for more Western support, suggested an effort by Mr. Zelensky to clean house and try to reassure Ukraine’s allies that his government would show zero tolerance for graft, or even lesser misbehavior.

Read full report: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/24/world/europe/ukraine-corruption-firing-western-aid.html