Live blog: Ukraine charges ex-defence officials for embezzling almost $25M

Monday, January 8, 2023

1404 GMT –– Multiple former officials of Ukraine’s Defence Ministry were accused of embezzling 948 million Ukrainian hryvnia ($24.7 million) through the purchase of low-quality bulletproof vests.

A statement by the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's office said the officials have been charged with “embezzlement of property and obstructing the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations."

Local reports suggested the suspects included Vyacheslav Shapovalov, former deputy defence minister, and Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, the head of the ministry’s state procurement department.

“According to the investigation, during the period of martial law, the suspects purchased 50,000 bulletproof vests for the needs of the Armed Forces, which, due to their quality and characteristics, did not meet the established requirements and could not be used in the army,” the statement added.

A number of Ukrainian officials were either dismissed or resigned in January 2023 as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy began a broad anti-corruption drive.

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1648 GMT –– Scholz berates EU allies over "insufficient" military support for Ukraine

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the majority of countries in the European Union were not delivering sufficient weapons to Ukraine to help it battle a Russian offensive, calling upon allies to increase their efforts.

With American military assistance to Ukraine stalled in the US Congress, Scholz insisted on the need for Europe to step up, repeating his mantra that the German government would support Kiev for as long as necessary.

The chancellor said he was confident the bloc would agree on its proposed 50 billion-euro aid package for Ukraine at an upcoming emergency summit on February 1. The EU failed to agree on the deal at an EU summit in December due to opposition from Hungary.

1440 GMT –– Zelenskyy discusses peace formula with Bahraini, Kuwaiti rulers

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said he discussed his 10-point peace formula with the leaders of Bahrain and Kuwait in separate phone conversations.

Zelenskyy's peace formula was laid out at the latest G-20 summit in Indonesia, which includes the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops, the release of all prisoners, and security guarantees for Ukraine. Russia began its "special military operation" in Ukraine in February 2022.

In a statement on X, Zelenskyy said he spoke to Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalif, which was "the first call between the leaders of Ukraine and Bahrain."

In another post, Zelenskyy said he spoke with Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Mishal Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah.

A meeting of advisers devoted to the Ukrainian peace formula will be held on January 14 in Davos, Switzerland.

1129 GMT –– At least 4 killed, dozens injured in Russian airstrikes on Ukraine

At least four people were killed and 30 others injured due to Russian air strikes in various regions of Ukraine, according to local officials.

1017 GMT –– Ukraine says it has exported 15M tonnes of cargo via Black Sea corridor

Ukraine has exported 15 million metric tons of cargo through its Black Sea shipping corridor, including 10 million tons of agricultural goods, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said.

Ukraine launched the corridor hugging the western Black Sea coast near Romania and Bulgaria in August shortly after Russia withdrew from a 2022 grain export deal brokered by Türkiye and the UN and threatened to treat all vessels as potential military targets.

Ukraine, a major global grain grower and exporter, says its exportable grain surplus totals 50 million tons in the 2023/24 July-June season. It had exported 19.4 million tons of grain as of Jan. 8.

0941 GMT — Russian air strikes across Ukraine kill 3, injure dozens: Kiev

At least three people have been killed and dozens injured in a fresh wave of Russian strikes across Ukraine, regional officials said.

The strikes come less than a week after Kiev warned it only had enough ammunition to withstand a few more powerful attacks, amid intense Russian bombardment.

"The enemy launched dozens of missiles at peaceful cities and villages of Ukraine," Ukraine's deputy head of the presidency Oleksiy Kuleba said, adding that 33 were injured.

0943 GMT — Ukraine destroys 18 out of 51 Russian missiles during latest strike: air force

Ukrainian forces have destroyed 18 out of 51 missiles of different types launched during a wave of Russian air strikes, Ukraine's air force said.

It said Russia had launched 32 cruise missiles overnight as well as eight "Shahed" drones, and that all the drones had been downed.

"Critical infrastructure facilities, industrial civilian and military facilities were attacked," the air force said.

0700 GMT — Russia evacuates 300 from Belgorod over Ukraine strikes

Russia has evacuated around 300 residents of Belgorod, a city near the Ukrainian border, over strikes by Kiev, the governor of the region said.

"Some 300 residents of Belgorod, who decided to temporarily evacuate, are at the moment being housed in temporary shelter centres in Stary Oskol, Gubkin and the Korochansky district", which are further from the border, Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a video posted on Telegram.

"Over the past 24 hours we received 1,300 requests to send Belgorod children to school camps away from the city, in other regions," he said.

0640 GMT — Russia launches missile attacks across Ukraine: Kiev

Russia has launched a large-scale missile attack across Ukraine, hitting residential and industrial facilities and injuring several people, Ukraine's officials said.

All of Ukraine was under air raid alerts from around 6 am local time (0400 GMT) with Ukraine's Air Force saying the country was under several waves of cruise missile threats and in some regions ballistic missiles.

"The enemy is viciously attacking peaceful cities," Oleksandr Vilkul, mayor of the southern Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, said on the Telegram messaging app.

For our live updates from Sunday, January 7, click here.