Following the corruption scandals in Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced more decisive action against misconduct in the state apparatus.
"Society will get all the information, and the state will take the necessary powerful steps," said Zelenskyy in his video message every evening on Sunday.
The arrested deputy minister for the development of municipalities, territories and infrastructure, Vasyl Losynskyj, was released.
According to the media, he is said to have received a bribe of USD 400,000 (around EUR 368,000) for the purchase of generators to deal with the country's energy crisis.
Zelenskyy also responded to reports of overpriced food purchases for soldiers.
Prices are said to have been paid three times higher than in retail.
Here, too, civil servants are said to have enriched themselves.
According to official information, Defense Minister Oleksiy Resnikov is to be heard before Parliament.
Corruption is a widespread problem in Ukraine, as in many countries of the former Soviet Union, which is why there are repeated fears that aid money from the West will seep away down opaque channels.
Many citizens believe that the country's leadership enriches itself with financial aid.
Zelenskyj announced decisions for the coming week that have already been taken but have not yet been published in order to further combat corruption and enrichment in office.
"I'm grateful to the journalists who deal with the facts and create the whole picture," he said of the revelations.
The main focus is on defending the country in the war against Russia.
Nevertheless, he is aware that these cases are also being discussed in society.
Action must be taken for the sake of justice.
Zelenskyj: Without victory, Ukraine could disintegrate
In a student discussion he shared with former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Zelenskyy said Ukraine could only survive as a state if it defeated Russia.
"Without victory we will not have a strong society," he said.
In the event of a defeat, every part of the country will look for the culprit.
"And if you look for someone to blame, you will always find them," Zelenskyj said.
The President warned of the danger of the country breaking up into small states.
For Russia, such a “tragedy” of Ukraine, a weakened neighbor who has no control over anything, is a national idea.
There is no other choice but to win the war, stressed Selenskyj, who was once again confident of victory.
Poland wants to give up German battle tanks
From the Ukrainian leadership's point of view, hundreds of battle tanks and military aircraft are urgently needed for a victory against Russia.
Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that if necessary, he would deliver Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine without Germany's consent.
He told the PAP news agency on Sunday: “We will not stand by and watch Ukraine bleed dry.
Ukraine and Europe will win this war – with or without Germany.”
If there is no early agreement with Germany, Poland will form a "smaller coalition" with other countries.
These countries would then begin supplying some of their Leopard tanks to Ukraine without German approval.
Actually, the approval of Germany is necessary for this.
According to Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Germany would not block the export of Leopard tanks from third countries to Ukraine.
"The question hasn't been asked at the moment, but if we were asked, we wouldn't stand in the way," the Green politician told French broadcaster LCI on Sunday evening.
NATO membership required
At his meeting with Johnson in Kyiv, Zelenskyy reiterated calls for his country to join NATO to protect it from Russian aggression.
Membership in the alliance is the "best security guarantee" for the country, said the head of the presidential office, Andriy Yermak.
It is important to actively promote the goal of NATO membership.
Russian President Vladimir Putin cited Ukraine's aspirations to join NATO as one of the reasons for the war.
Moscow had always mentioned Kiev's renunciation of membership in the military alliance as a condition for resolving the conflict.
Nuclear power Russia claims to see its security threatened by a possible NATO presence in Ukraine.
More EU military aid to Ukraine
The foreign ministers of the EU states want to discuss the latest developments in the war in Ukraine this Monday in Brussels.
Ministers are expected to agree that an additional EUR 500 million can be made available to supply arms and equipment to the Ukrainian armed forces.
This would increase the total amount approved so far by the EU to 3.5 billion euros.
According to an EU official, an additional 45 million euros is also at stake for the new EU training mission for Ukrainian armed forces.
It is intended to enable Ukrainian soldiers to defend themselves even better against the attackers from Russia.
Federal Foreign Minister Baerbock is expected in Brussels for Germany.
In addition, this Monday the Bundeswehr will begin moving the first two of the three promised Patriot anti-aircraft missile squadrons from Germany to Poland.
They are intended to help protect Polish airspace and strengthen NATO's eastern flank.
The laying begins in Gnoien in the district of Rostock.
The anti-aircraft systems are to move into operational positions in the vicinity of the city of Zamość in south-eastern Poland.
From there it is around 60 kilometers to the Ukrainian border and 110 kilometers to the Ukrainian city of Lviv (Lemberg).