Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired the head of the country’s security service and its chief prosecutor on Sunday, citing hundreds of criminal proceedings for treason and collaboration by people in their departments.
“In particular, more than 60 employees of the prosecutor’s office and the [Security Service of Ukraine] have remained in the occupied territory and are working against our country,” Zelensky said.
“Such a set of crimes against the foundations of national security of the state and the links registered between Ukrainian security forces and Russian special services raise very serious questions for their respective leaders,” he said.
He dismissed the chief prosecutor Irina Venediktova and replaced her with her deputy Oleksii Simonenko.
He also fired Ivan Bakanov, head of Ukraine’s security service, the SBU. Bakanov was a longtime friend of Zelensky, according to Ukrainian news agencies.
Ivan Bakanov, head of the Security Service of Ukraine, left, is seen with Prosecutor General Irina Venediktova at a press conference in Kyiv on May 11. On Sunday, Zelensky fired both of them. (Valentin Ogirenko/Reuters)
The Ukrainian counter-offensive is looming in the south
Earlier on Sunday, Russian missiles hit industrial facilities in Nikolaev, a strategic city in southern Ukraine. Mayor Alexander Senkevich said the missiles hit an industrial and infrastructure facility in the city, a key shipbuilding center at the mouth of the Southern Bug River. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Nikolaev has faced regular Russian missile strikes in recent weeks as the Russians try to soften Ukrainian defenses.
The Russian military has announced its goal to cut off the entire Black Sea coast of Ukraine all the way to the Romanian border. If successful, such an effort would deal a crushing blow to Ukraine’s economy and trade and allow Moscow to secure a land bridge to Moldova’s separatist region of Transnistria, where a Russian military base is located.
Early in the campaign, Ukrainian forces repelled Russian attempts to seize Nikolaev, which lies near the Black Sea coast between Russian-occupied Crimea and the main Ukrainian port of Odessa. Since then, Russian troops have stopped their attempts to advance on the city, but have continued to hit Nikolaev and Odessa with regular missile strikes.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, which is chaired by President Vladimir Putin, responded to claims by Ukrainian officials that Kyiv could strike the bridge linking Crimea to Russia, warning that doing so would have devastating consequences for the Ukrainian leadership.
“They will instantly face the Last Judgment,” Medvedev said on Sunday. “It will be very difficult for them to hide.
Medvedev, once touted by the West as more liberal than Putin, said Russia would press ahead with its actions in Ukraine until it meets its stated goal of “denazification” and “demilitarization” of the country. He predicted that the fighting “will undoubtedly lead to the fall of the existing regime” in Kyiv.
WATCH | What happened in week 21 of Russia’s attack on Ukraine:
What happened in week 21 of Russia’s attack on Ukraine
Russian missiles hit towns in central and southwestern Ukraine far from the front lines of the conflict, and Ukraine said Canada’s decision to return turbines used in a natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany would be seen as a sign of weakness by Moscow. Here is a summary of the war in Ukraine from July 9 to July 15.
The spokesman of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said on Sunday that Russian missiles had destroyed a depot for Harpoon anti-ship missiles supplied to Ukraine by NATO allies, a claim that could not be independently confirmed.
The Russians, fearing a Ukrainian counteroffensive, also tried to strengthen their positions in the Kherson region near Crimea and in part of the northern Zaporozhye region, which they captured in the initial stage of the war.
Britain’s Ministry of Defense said on Sunday that Russia was moving troops and equipment between Kherson, Mariupol and Zaporizhia and increasing security measures around Melitopol.
It added: “Given the pressure on Russian manpower, the reinforcement in the south as the battle for Donbas continues shows the seriousness with which Russian commanders view the threat.”
Struggle for Donbass
For now, the Russian military is focused on trying to take control of Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland of Donbas, home to Moscow-backed separatists and home to Ukraine’s most capable and well-equipped forces.
Ukraine says its forces still control two small villages in the Luhansk region, one of the two provinces that make up Donbas, and are repelling Russian attempts to push deeper into the second, Donetsk region.
The Ukrainian army’s general staff said on Sunday that Ukrainian troops had thwarted Russian attempts to advance on Slavyansk, the key Ukrainian stronghold in Donetsk, and attacks elsewhere in the region.
Still, Russian officials are urging their troops to make even more territorial gains. During a visit to the front line on Saturday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu issued an order “to further intensify the actions of units in all operational zones.”
Add Comment