KYIV: As Moscow appeared prepared to intensify military operations, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy fired the head of the domestic security service and the state prosecutor, citing hundreds of cases of alleged treason and collaboration with Russia.
President Zelenskiy
In Russian-occupied territory, Zelenskiy claimed that over 60 members of the SBU security service and prosecutor’s office were working against Ukraine and that 651 treason and collaboration cases had been filed against law enforcement personnel.
The dismissals of Ivan Bakanov, the head of the security service, and Iryna Venediktova, the prosecutor general, who oversaw efforts to bring charges against Russian war criminals, as well as the sheer volume of treason cases, on Sunday highlight the enormous challenge posed by Russian infiltration as Kyiv battles Moscow in what it claims is a battle for survival.president
Such a wide range of offenses against the state’s fundamental national security principles “raise very serious questions for the responsible leaders,” Zelenskiy said. “An appropriate response will be given to each of these queries.president
Zelenskiy brought up the recent treason arrest of the former head of the SBU in charge of the Crimea region—the peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014 but that Kyiv and the West still consider to be Ukrainian territory—in his nightly address to the country.
Zelenskiy claimed that his decision to fire the top security official at the beginning of the invasion was vindicated.president
“This person is being investigated for treason based on sufficient evidence. His criminal history is well-documented, “said he.
3-thousand cruise missiles
Russian forces, using a campaign of devastating bombing to take control of large swaths of Ukraine’s south and east, where pro-Russian separatists already hold territory, after failing to take the country’s capital Kyiv early in the invasion.president
Zelenskiy claimed that more than 3,000 cruise missiles had been fired by Russia to date and that the number of artillery and other strikes had been “impossible to count.”
However, recent Western supplies of long-range weapons are starting to aid Ukraine on the battlefield. Kyiv cites a number of successful strikes carried out using several multiple launch rocket systems on 30 Russian logistics and ammunition hubs.president
According to Ukraine’s military, the strikes are disrupting Russian supply routes and have significantly reduced Russia’s offensive capability.
According to Ukrainian officials, the new High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) made in the United States that they started receiving last month enable them to reach targets in the Russian-occupied Crimea and other regions. Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014.
Andriy Yermak, the president of Ukraine’s chief of staff, posted a message on Telegram on Sunday with the message “Good morning from HIMARS” and a video of what he claimed was another destroyed Russian ammunition depot in southern Ukraine.
Russia steps up its military efforts
According to a statement from the ministry, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu instructed military units to step up operations on Saturday to thwart Ukrainian attacks on Russian-held territory.
Later, Ukrainian military intelligence reported shelling all along the frontline, which it claimed was Russian offensive preparation for the upcoming phase.
The Russian military, according to the Ukrainian military, appeared to be reorganizing units in preparation for an offensive against Sloviansk, a symbolic Ukrainian city held in the eastern Donetsk region.
Ukraine forces
Despite pressure from Ukrainian forces and promises from Ukrainian leaders to drive Russia out, the British Defense Ministry reported on Sunday that Russia was also bolstering defenses in all of the southern Ukrainian territories it controls.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin began an invasion he dubbed a “special military operation” in an effort to demilitarise its neighbor and purge it of potentially dangerous nationalists.
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kyiv and the West claim that it was an imperialist land grab and attempt to retake a nation that had been freed from Moscow’s control.
United Nations
According to the United Nations, the largest conflict in Europe since World War Two has resulted in more than 5,000 fatalities, more than 6 million forced to flee Ukraine, and 8 million internal displacements.
Russia denies allegations from the West and Ukraine that its troops have committed war crimes and are targeting civilians.
Russia denies allegations from the West and Ukraine that its troops have committed war crimes and are targeting civilians.
Following Moscow’s announcement that its forces would intensify military operations in “all operational areas,” a Ukrainian military official claimed that Russia is getting ready for the next phase of its offensive in Ukraine.
