Corruption rankings upgrade, 120 tanks expected, no help from Brazil

• Ukraine has improved its score in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2022, gaining 33 points out of 100.

That’s according to a report by Transparency International, which noted that Ukraine gained one point on their scale. Algeria, Angola, Zambia, Mongolia, El Salvador, and the Philippines also have 33 points. Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Gambia, Indonesia, Malawi, Nepal, Sierra Leone are one point ahead of Ukraine – they have 34 points.

• Ukraine will receive 120-140 modern Western tanks in the first wave of deliveries.

According to Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, , the “tank coalition” of countries supplying main battle tanks to Ukraine already has 12 member countries. The diplomat said that Ukraine will receive Leopard 2, Challenger 2, M1 Abrams tanks and is also expecting France to deliver its Leclerc tanks.

• Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has turned down a German request to send ammunition to Ukraine as part of the international effort to help Kyiv repel the Russian invasion.

“Brazil has no interest in passing on ammunition so that it will be used in the war,” Lula told reporters at a press conference in Brasilia alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. “Brazil does not want to have any participation, even indirect,” Lula said.

• Russia’s seaborne oil flows look as if they are moving higher in January 2023.

According to preliminary estimates by experts from the Institute of Black Sea Strategic Studies, the growth will be from 15% to 35%, and the volume of exports will be from 3.4 to 4.2 million tons instead of 2.9 million tons in December 2022. This increase is believed to be fuelled by exports to India.

• The High Anti-Corruption Court has sentenced Dmytro Sus, a former investigator of the Prosecutor General’s Office, to nine years in prison with confiscation of property.

The former official was found guilty of embezzlement and misappropriation of property. Sus, who was the former deputy head of the department for investigation of particularly important cases in the field of the economy, and the head of the department for investigating crimes in the field of economy at the Prosecutor General’s Office, was detained at Boryspil International Airport on July 25, 2017.

• The Supreme Court has found in favor of Internet service provider Lanet in a dispute with Ukrainian media groups.

Lanet filed a statement with the Antimonopoly Committee accusing 1+1 media, Media Group Ukraine, StarLightMedia, and the Inter Media Group of abuse – in particular, of having coordinated the package sale of popular and unpopular programs, coordinated their actions, and unilaterally terminated contracts with some providers.

• The High Anti-Corruption Court has ruled that the charges against former Naftogaz CEO Oleksiy Kobolyev in a case on the alleged misappropriation of a bonus are unfounded.

The High Anti-Corruption Court also found that the Naftogaz Supervisory Board had consciously made the decision to award the bonus and was not subject to pressure from the official. The court also noted that during the five years of investigation in the case, members of the Supervisory Board, including its chairman, were never questioned.

• OnlyFans, an online adult content service, is no longer available in Russia.

The company’s representatives have not yet commented on the situation. OnlyFans limited access to accounts for Russian and Belarusian models on Feb. 28, 2022. The decision was made due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The company added it would not continue paid subscriptions to accounts from Russia and Belarus.

• The United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is looking to mobilize $250 million for banks in Ukraine to expand small business lending in the country.

DFC will be working with Horizon Capital to invest in eCommerce, fintech, and technology companies in the country. The agency also outlined a plan to fund the expansion of Dobrobut private clinic network in Kyiv.

• France will transfer 12 additional Caesar self-propelled guns to Ukraine.

During a press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov, French Defense Minister Sébastien Lekornu also said that France would send 150 its servicemen to Poland to train Ukrainian military. A total of 2,000 Ukrainian servicemen will undergo training by the summer.

• The day’s long read: The issue of timing is key: My forecast for 2023

Historian Yaroslav Hrytsak lays out why Ukraine’s victory needs to come as soon as possible, and explains why more aid to Ukraine is needed to ensure that outcome.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine