Top Ukrainian defense official sacked amid infighting over procurement

Ukraine's government on Tuesday sacked a deputy defence minister in charge of weapons purchases amid infighting over procurement that is complicating Kyiv's attempt to reassure key Western partners at a critical moment in the war with Russia. (AP/File)
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Updated 28 January 2025
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Top Ukrainian defense official sacked amid infighting over procurement

  • Ukraine has sought to clean up defense spending as the war grinds toward its fourth year
  • As well as requesting Dmytro Klimenkov’s removal, Umerov leveled particular criticism at the Defense Procurement Agency

KYIV: Ukraine’s government on Tuesday sacked a deputy defense minister in charge of weapons purchases amid infighting over procurement that is complicating Kyiv’s attempt to reassure key Western partners at a critical moment in the war with Russia.
The dispute burst into the open last week after Defense Minister Rustem Umerov criticized Ukraine’s arms procurement effort as having failed to deliver results for frontline troops.
Ukraine has sought to clean up defense spending as the war grinds toward its fourth year, an effort that has taken on greater importance as US President Donald Trump considers whether to continue supporting Kyiv’s military.
As well as requesting Dmytro Klimenkov’s removal, Umerov leveled particular criticism at the Defense Procurement Agency, which coordinates weapons purchases for Ukraine’s outgunned military.
The agency was established after a series of allegations earlier in the war of ministry misspending, and has aimed to cut out intermediaries and minimize the risk of corruption.
In a statement on Friday, Umerov said it had “inexplicably transformed into an ‘Amazon’” and its purchases were too publicly visible. Ukraine has long sought to keep details of arms procurement a closely guarded secret.
Umerov also said that he would not renew a contract with agency chief Maryna Bezrukova, a reformer whose appointment last year had been applauded by Kyiv’s Western partners. He pledged to install a new director.
The agency said in response that it had made “significant progress” in boosting supply and lowering prices, and that it would continue working under Bezrukova.
The standoff comes as Ukrainian troops face Russian advances across swathes of the east. Both sides are attempting to gain a battlefield edge ahead of any potential peace talks, but Kyiv’s defenses are buckling amid a shortage of men and weapons.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Western partners to keep arms flowing to Ukraine. The defense ministry’s own anti-corruption council, comprised of elected civic activists, said the infighting could compromise that effort.
“We believe the current situation is harmful to Ukraine, the Ukrainian military and our international relations,” it said on Saturday. “We must be clear and predictable for partners.”
In a statement on Monday, G7 diplomats in Ukraine urged officials to quickly resolve the dispute.
“Consistency with good governance principles and NATO recommendations is important to maintain the trust of public and international partners,” they wrote.


Leading civil society groups call on F-35 partner countries to end supplies to Israel

Updated 18 February 2025
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Leading civil society groups call on F-35 partner countries to end supplies to Israel

  • Over 200 organizations send letter to government ministers in US, UK, Australia, Canada, elsewhere
  • ‘The past 15 months have illustrated that Israel is not committed to complying with international law’

LONDON: More than 200 civil society groups worldwide have urged countries involved in the F-35 jet program to halt arms transfers to Israel over fears of humanitarian law violations, The Guardian reported on Tuesday.

It comes as the war in Gaza reached 500 days, with the F-35 jet being used extensively by the Israeli Air Force to conduct bombing operations throughout the conflict.

The organizations signed a letter that was sent on Monday to government ministers in the UK, the US, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway.

The 232 signatories come from the countries involved in production of the jet, as well as Jordan, Lebanon, India, Belgium, Switzerland, Ireland and elsewhere.

Leading charities such as Oxfam, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch signed the letter, which was coordinated by the Campaign Against Arms Trade.

It says: “The past 15 months have illustrated with devastating clarity that Israel is not committed to complying with international law.

“Partners to the F-35 program have individually and collectively failed to prevent these jets from being used to commit serious violations of international law by Israel.

“States have either been unwilling to observe their international legal obligations and/or claimed that the structure of the F-35 program means that it is not possible to apply arms controls to any end-user, making the entire program incompatible with international law.”

Israel is part of the international agreement behind the F-35 program. British firms supply 15 percent of the parts used in the jet, which is produced by a global consortium led by US defense firm Lockheed Martin.

Governments including those of the US, the UK, Australia and Canada have faced legal action over their involvement in granting arms licenses to Israel that include F-35 components.

The UK in September suspended 30 out of 350 arms export licenses to Israel over fears that the weapons may be used to violate international humanitarian law.

But components of the F-35 were exempt from the suspension for reasons of “international peace and security.”

All countries in the F-35 program are parties to the arms trade treaty, except the US, which is a signatory.

The treaty requires the prevention of military transfers where a risk of humanitarian law violations exists.

More than 48,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, with some researchers saying the death toll could be up to 40 percent higher than the number recorded by the enclave’s Health Ministry.

Katie Fallon, advocacy manager at CAAT, said: “The F-35 jet program is emblematic of the West’s complicity in Israel’s crimes against Palestinians.

“These jets were instrumental in Israel’s 466-day bombardment of Gaza, in crimes that include war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

“Since the limited ceasefire the US government, and lead partner to the F-35 program, has threatened Gaza with mass ethnic cleansing and forced displacement.

“This program gives material and political consent from all western partners, including the UK, for these crimes to continue.”


Vatican cancels hospitalized Pope Francis’s weekend events

Updated 18 February 2025
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Vatican cancels hospitalized Pope Francis’s weekend events

  • The Holy See had already indicated that the pontiff would stay longer in the hospital than initially believed due to a ‘complex’ clinical picture
  • It is latest of a series of health issues for the pope, who has undergone hernia and colon surgery since 2021, and uses a wheelchair for a sore knee

VATICAN CITY: The Vatican on Tuesday canceled two of Pope Francis’s events at the weekend as the 88-year-old continues to receive hospital treatment for bronchitis.
The Holy See had already on Monday indicated that the pontiff, who was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Friday, would stay longer than initially believed due to a “complex” clinical picture.
“Due to the health conditions of the Holy Father, the Jubilee audience of Saturday February 22 is canceled,” it said in a statement Tuesday.
It added that the pontiff has delegated a senior Vatican clergyman to celebrate a planned mass on Sunday morning.
The Vatican did not mention the Angelus prayer, which the pope normally delivers at midday on Sunday, but which he missed last weekend.
Francis, the head of the worldwide Catholic Church since 2013, was admitted to hospital after struggling for several days to read his texts in public.
It is latest of a series of health issues for the Argentine Jesuit, who has undergone hernia and colon surgery since 2021, and uses a wheelchair for a sore knee.
In a statement on Monday, the Vatican said tests had confirmed “a polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract that has led to a further change in treatment.”
“All the tests carried out until now are indicative of a complex clinical picture that will require adequate hospitalization,” it said.
In an update later on Monday evening, it said his condition was unchanged.
“The Holy Father remains without a fever and is proceeding with the prescribed treatment,” it added.
He had on Monday morning “received the Eucharist and subsequently dedicated himself to some work and reading texts,” it said.
“Pope Francis is touched by the numerous messages of affection and closeness he continues to receive,” it added.


Vietnam parliament approves plan for leaner government

Updated 18 February 2025
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Vietnam parliament approves plan for leaner government

  • The number of government ministries will be reduced to 14 from the current of 18
  • More than 97% of lawmakers present in Vietnam’s National Assembly approved the plan

HANOI: Vietnam’s National Assembly on Tuesday approved a bold bureaucratic reform plan that will slash up to a fifth of government bodies, as the country tries to cut costs and improve administrative efficiency.
The number of government ministries will be reduced to 14 from the current of 18, to be up and running from March 1, the assembly said in a statement.
More than 97 percent of the lawmakers present approved the plan.
The assembly earlier on Tuesday passed an amendment to a law on organizing government, paving the way for approval of the planned cull of 15 percent to 20 percent of the state apparatus, which will also include four agencies and five state television channels, among other cuts.
The move would “not only save money for the state budget but more importantly, boost the efficiency of the system,” General Secretary of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party, To Lam, told parliament last week. Investors, diplomats and officials have broadly welcomed the plan but expect some administrative delays in the short term in Vietnam, a regional industrial hub that relies heavily on foreign investment. The government has said the overhaul would not impact project approvals.
The planning and investment ministry, which approves foreign investment projects, will join the finance ministry, while the transport ministry and the construction ministry will be merged.
The natural resources and environment ministry and the agriculture ministry will also be merged.
Lawmakers on Tuesday ratified the appointment of two new deputy premiers, including the incumbent investment minister. That will increase the number of deputy prime ministers from five to seven.
The plan coincides with similar post-pandemic government cost-cutting measures being implemented or pledged across the world, including by Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei and US President Donald Trump.
Vietnam’s state media last month reported the restructuring would affect 100,000 state officials. It did not elaborate.
“Poor-performing employees must be removed from the system,” it quoted Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh, as saying.
“State agencies must not be safe shelters for incompetent officials.”


South Korea’s parliament presses for Yoon Suk Yeol’s removal as impeachment trial winds down

Updated 18 February 2025
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South Korea’s parliament presses for Yoon Suk Yeol’s removal as impeachment trial winds down

  • Lawyers for both sides summarize their arguments and evidence at the Constitutional Court
  • Yoon Suk Yeol has argued that he had a right as president to issue his martial law decree

SEOUL: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol could try to impose martial law again or undermine constitutional institutions should he be reinstated, lawyers for parliament argued on Tuesday as his impeachment trial entered its final phase.
After weeks of testimony by high-ranking current and former officials, including some facing criminal charges for their role in the brief imposition of martial law on December 3, lawyers for both sides summarized their arguments and evidence at the Constitutional Court.
“Declaring martial law in a situation that doesn’t fit a national emergency is a declaration of dictatorship and military rule,” Kim Jin-han, a lawyer for the parliament, told the justices.
He cited pro-Yoon protesters who stormed a different court in January.
“If he returns to work, we don’t know if he will again exercise martial law,” Kim said. “If he returns to work, we can’t rule out the possibility that he will attack other state and constitutional institutions.”
The Constitutional Court is due to hold another hearing to question three more witnesses on Thursday, including the impeached prime minister and the former police chief.
The court is reviewing parliament’s impeachment of Yoon on December 14 and will decide whether to remove him from office permanently or reinstate him. If he is removed, a new presidential election must be held within 60 days.
Yoon has argued that he had a right as president to issue his martial law decree, which lasted around six hours before he rescinded it in the face of parliamentary opposition. He said the move was also justified by political deadlock and threats from “anti-state forces” sympathetic to North Korea.
His case at the Constitutional Court has also included arguments that he never actually intended to stop parliament from operating, even though the order was publicly declared and troops and police were deployed to the legislature.
Yoon also sent troops to the National Election Commission and later said the decree was necessary in part because the NEC had been unwilling to address concerns over election hacking, a claim rejected by election officials.
Prosecutors have also indicted Yoon on separate criminal charges of leading an insurrection. He was arrested last month and is being held at a detention center.
The first preparatory hearing in that case is scheduled for Thursday.
Insurrection is one of the few criminal charges from which a South Korean president does not have immunity. It is punishable by life imprisonment or death, although South Korea has not executed anyone in decades.


Philippines accuses China’s navy of ‘reckless’ flight maneuvers  

Updated 18 February 2025
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Philippines accuses China’s navy of ‘reckless’ flight maneuvers  

  • People’s Liberation Army Navy helicopter flew as close as three meters to a Philippine government fisheries aircraft

MANILA: The Philippine coast guard accused the Chinese navy of performing dangerous flight maneuvers on Tuesday when it flew close to a government aircraft patrolling a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.
“This reckless action posed a serious risk to the safety of the pilots and passengers,” the coast guard said in a statement.
The Philippine coast guard said the government fisheries aircraft was conducting what it called a maritime domain awareness flight on Tuesday over the Scarborough Shoal, a rocky atoll and prime fishing patch located inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
The Chinese defense ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The People’s Liberation Army Navy helicopter flew as close as three meters to the aircraft, which the Philippine coast guard said was a “clear violation and blatant disregard” for aviation regulations.
Named after a British ship that was grounded on the atoll nearly three centuries ago, the Scarborough Shoal is one of the most contested maritime feature in the South China Sea, where Beijing and Manila have clashed repeatedly.
China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, a vital waterway for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce, putting it at odds with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. A 2016 arbitration ruling invalidated China’s expansive claim but Beijing does not recognize the decision.