DoD to Al Mayadeen: Ukraine corruption charges to affect battle course
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The Pentagon spokesperson denied to Al Mayadeen that Washington is aware of the corruption charges against the Ukrainian ministers and senior officials.
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Patrick Ryder, a spokesperson for the United States Pentagon
A spokesperson for the US Department of Defense, Patrick Ryder, considered that the actions of Ukrainian President Zelensky to dismiss a number of Ukrainian officials in connection with corruption charges is an internal matter.
In response to a question by Al Mayadeen on Tuesday, Ryder denied that the US government is aware of the corruption charges, even if they had a negative impact on the course of the battles there.
Read more: West in too deep in Ukraine war, 'can't afford' to lose: Newsweek
Earlier today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed a group of ministers and administration officials and banned them from leaving the country following corruption scandals that emerged, including senior members of the defense ministry and top figures in Zelensky's team.
The Ukrainian government announced that six ministers and five regional governors were dismissed, including Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a deputy head of Zelensky’s office, and Viacheslav Shapovalov, a deputy Defense Minister.
On the other hand, Ryan stressed that Russia has set clear strategic goals to achieve in Ukraine since the start of military operations there.
LIVE: @PentagonPresSec @USAirForce Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder holds a news briefing at the Pentagon. https://t.co/CorNjyVqiB
— Department of Defense 🇺🇸 (@DeptofDefense) January 24, 2023
It's worth noting that last week, a security advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky submitted his resignation.
Oleksiy Arestovych earlier published a video admitting that a Ukrainian air defense missile was responsible for changing the course of the Russian missile that struck a residential building in Dnipro and resulted in tens of civilian deaths.
