Ukrainian minister freed on bail after arrest over corruption allegations – as it happened

• Ukraine’s agriculture minister, Mykola Solskyi, was detained after being named as a formal suspect in a multimillion-dollar corruption inquiry.

• Solskyi, who is facing allegations that he took part in an illegal acquisition of state-owned land worth some $7 million, was released on bail.

• He has denied the allegations and offered his resignation this week.

• The French defence minister, Sebastien Lecornu, said Paris working with Germany to convince their European partners to provide more air defence capacities to Kyiv.

• Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that another shipment of Ukrainian grain has been delivered to Sudan.

• The head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, Vadym Filashkin, said “Russians killed five residents of the Donetsk region.”
  One person has been killed in Russia’s Kursk as a result of shelling by Ukraine, Kursk regional governor Roman Starovoit said.

• The British defence secretary, Grant Shapps, has said that “the allegations of Russian malign activity in the UK are deeply concerning.”

The British defence secretary, Grant Shapps, has said that “the allegations of Russian malign activity in the UK are deeply concerning.”

“Anyone found guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service will be held to account,” he added.

His comments came after a 20-year-old man was charged with conducting hostile activity in the UK in order to benefit Russia, and four others were charged in connection with the investigation.

Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defence minister, has said Russia is ready to expand military cooperation with Iran, Reuters reported citing the RIA state news agency.

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that another shipment of Ukrainian grain has been delivered to Sudan.

“Ukraine continues to support the Sudanese people, even as it defends itself against Russian aggression at home. This is our guiding principle: we not only seek help from the world but also help others in the world,” he said.

Ukraine’s agriculture minister, Mykola Solskyi, was released on bail today, Reuters reported.

He is facing allegations that he took part in an illegal acquisition of state-owned land worth some $7 million. Solskyi has denied the allegations and tendered his resignation on Thursday.

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Ukraine’s defence ministry has thanked Norway for recent aid.

France is working with Germany to convince their European partners to provide more air defence capacities to Kyiv, the French defence minister, Sebastien Lecornu, said today, Reuters reported.

“The advance of Russian forces west of Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast, has accelerated within the past week,” according to a British intelligence update.

The first reparation payments are to be made in the next few weeks to survivors of wartime rape by Russian soldiers during the invasion of Ukraine, in a move that Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, called “an important step towards restoring justice”.

Up to 500 Ukrainian survivors of conflict-related sexual violence are being identified and awarded with interim reparations this year, including financial, medical and psychological support.

Zelenska said: “Reparations to victims of gross human rights violations, including victims of conflict-related sexual violence, are not just about economic support. It is an important step towards restoring justice.

“And this justice is needed not only in Ukraine,” she said. “Justice for Ukrainian victims of violence is now a mirror for the world itself.”

According to the Global Survivors Fund, which is administering the project with Ukraine using funds from donor governments, it will be the first time survivors have been awarded reparations during an active conflict.

Read the full story here.

One person has been killed in Russia’s Kursk as a result of shelling by Ukraine, Kursk regional governor Roman Starovoit said, Reuters reported.

Five people have been killed in the Donetsk region overnight, Ukrinform reported.

“On April 25, Russians killed five residents of the Donetsk region: three in Udachne, one in Kurakhivka, and one in Ocheretyne,” said the head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, Vadym Filashkin.

“Radiation sees no borders or national flags,” Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on the anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, which began on 26 April, 1986.

“For 785 days now, Russian terrorists have held hostage the Zaporizhzhia NPP,” the Ukrainian president said.

He added: “It is the entire world’s responsibility to put pressure on Russia to ensure that ZNPP is liberated and returned to full Ukrainian control, as well as that all Ukrainian nuclear facilities are protected from Russian strikes. This is the only way to prevent new radiation disasters, which the Russian occupiers’ presence at ZNPP constantly threatens.”

26 Apr 202403.55 EDT

Shaun Walker

Ukraine’s government has been trying to show the population – and the country’s foreign donors – that corruption in wartime will not be tolerated.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy sacked Oleksii Reznikov as defence minister in September. There are also numerous court cases against various defence ministry officials.

“Now more than ever, Ukrainians understand that corruption can kill,” said Daria Kaleniuk, the executive director of the Kyiv-based NGO the Anti-Corruption Action Centre. “Zelenskiy’s skill is reading the public mood, and it is clear that he is forced to act.”

“The war changed Ukrainian society and now everyone in government understands that people want a new social agreement with authorities,” she added.

Read the story here.

Mykola Solskyi, Ukraine’s agriculture minister, is now facing accusations that he illegally seized land worth more than $7 million, AFP reported.

The allegations concern a time when he was the head of a major farming company and a member of parliament.

A court has ordered him to be held in custody until June 24.

A Ukrainian court ordered the country’s agriculture minister, Mykola Solskyi, to be taken into custody today, Reuters reported.

Solskyi, the first known minister under Volodymyr Zelenskiy to be named in a corruption case, is facing allegations of alleged involvement in illegal acquisition of state-owned land.

Solskyi has denied the allegations, which relate to events before he became agriculture minister. He tendered his resignation on Thursday.

Good morning and welcome to the blog.

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