By — Associated Press Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-state-department-briefing-following-report-that-ukraine-officials-fired-over-corruption Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter WATCH: State Department briefing following report that Ukraine officials fired over corruption Politics Updated on Jan 24, 2023 9:06 PM EDT — Published on Jan 24, 2023 9:57 AM EDT The State Department is weighing in on developments in Kyiv as several senior Ukrainian officials, including front-line governors, lost their jobs Tuesday in a corruption scandal plaguing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government as it grapples with the nearly 11-month-old Russian invasion. Watch the briefing in the player above. Ukraine’s biggest government shake-up since the war began came as U.S. officials said Washington was poised to approve supplying Kyiv with M1 Abrams tanks, with international reluctance eroding toward sending tanks to the battlefront against the Russians. Officials in several countries, including the United States, have demanded more accountability for the aid, given Ukraine’s rampant corruption. While Zelenskyy and his aides portray the resignations and firings as proof of their efforts to crack down, the wartime scandal could play into Moscow’s political attacks on the leadership in Kyiv. “We’re actively engaged with the government of Ukraine to ensure accountability,” said State Department Spokesperson Ned Price. “A key focus is to ensure safeguards both for the accountability of weaponry, as well as adherence to the laws of war, are built into all assistance efforts as we help Ukraine defend its sovereignty and its territorial integrity against this ongoing aggression,” he said. WATCH: Poland steps up pressure to send tanks to Ukraine Zelenskyy was elected in 2019 on an anti-establishment and anti-corruption platform in a country long gripped by graft, and the new allegations come as Western allies are channeling billions of dollars to help Kyiv fight against Moscow. In what would be a reversal, the Biden administration is poised to approve sending M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, U.S. officials said Tuesday, as international reluctance to send tanks to the battlefront against the Russians begins to erode. A decision to send a bit more than 30 tanks could be announced as soon as Wednesday, though it could take months for the tanks to be delivered. The U.S. announcement is expected in coordination with an announcement by Germany that it will approve Poland’s request to transfer German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, according to one official. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has not yet been made public. Price remained tight-lipped when he was asked about the delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. In a another matter, Price commented the status of NATO membership after Finland’s foreign minister suggested Tuesday that the country may consider joining NATO without neighboring Sweden if Turkey continues to block their joint bid to enter the military alliance. READ MORE: Russia official warns West of ‘global catastrophe’ for arming Ukraine Price said talks that have been postponed among Sweden, Finland and Turkey could still yield results when they occur. “We obviously want to see those consultations continue and we want to see those consultations culminate in Finland and in Finland and Sweden joining the alliance,” he said. Finally, the State Department applauded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he made a surprise trip to Jordan on Tuesday to meet with King Abdullah II for the first time in over four years.Netanyahu is seeking to shore up ties that have strained since he took office at the helm of Israel’s most right-wing government in history. The rare meeting between the leaders, who have long had a rocky relationship, comes as tensions grow over Israel’s new ultranationalist government, which took office late last year. The talks centered around the status of a contested holy site in the Old City of Jerusalem sacred to both Jews and Muslims, an emotional issue at the heart of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, Jordan’s official statement indicated. By — Associated Press Associated Press
The State Department is weighing in on developments in Kyiv as several senior Ukrainian officials, including front-line governors, lost their jobs Tuesday in a corruption scandal plaguing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government as it grapples with the nearly 11-month-old Russian invasion. Watch the briefing in the player above. Ukraine’s biggest government shake-up since the war began came as U.S. officials said Washington was poised to approve supplying Kyiv with M1 Abrams tanks, with international reluctance eroding toward sending tanks to the battlefront against the Russians. Officials in several countries, including the United States, have demanded more accountability for the aid, given Ukraine’s rampant corruption. While Zelenskyy and his aides portray the resignations and firings as proof of their efforts to crack down, the wartime scandal could play into Moscow’s political attacks on the leadership in Kyiv. “We’re actively engaged with the government of Ukraine to ensure accountability,” said State Department Spokesperson Ned Price. “A key focus is to ensure safeguards both for the accountability of weaponry, as well as adherence to the laws of war, are built into all assistance efforts as we help Ukraine defend its sovereignty and its territorial integrity against this ongoing aggression,” he said. WATCH: Poland steps up pressure to send tanks to Ukraine Zelenskyy was elected in 2019 on an anti-establishment and anti-corruption platform in a country long gripped by graft, and the new allegations come as Western allies are channeling billions of dollars to help Kyiv fight against Moscow. In what would be a reversal, the Biden administration is poised to approve sending M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, U.S. officials said Tuesday, as international reluctance to send tanks to the battlefront against the Russians begins to erode. A decision to send a bit more than 30 tanks could be announced as soon as Wednesday, though it could take months for the tanks to be delivered. The U.S. announcement is expected in coordination with an announcement by Germany that it will approve Poland’s request to transfer German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, according to one official. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has not yet been made public. Price remained tight-lipped when he was asked about the delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. In a another matter, Price commented the status of NATO membership after Finland’s foreign minister suggested Tuesday that the country may consider joining NATO without neighboring Sweden if Turkey continues to block their joint bid to enter the military alliance. READ MORE: Russia official warns West of ‘global catastrophe’ for arming Ukraine Price said talks that have been postponed among Sweden, Finland and Turkey could still yield results when they occur. “We obviously want to see those consultations continue and we want to see those consultations culminate in Finland and in Finland and Sweden joining the alliance,” he said. Finally, the State Department applauded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he made a surprise trip to Jordan on Tuesday to meet with King Abdullah II for the first time in over four years.Netanyahu is seeking to shore up ties that have strained since he took office at the helm of Israel’s most right-wing government in history. The rare meeting between the leaders, who have long had a rocky relationship, comes as tensions grow over Israel’s new ultranationalist government, which took office late last year. The talks centered around the status of a contested holy site in the Old City of Jerusalem sacred to both Jews and Muslims, an emotional issue at the heart of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, Jordan’s official statement indicated.