Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky Fires Security Chief, Prosecutor General

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky Fires Security Chief, Prosecutor General

The orders were published on the president's official website.

Ukraine faced new turmoil Sunday with President Volodymyr Zelensky announcing he sacked his top two law enforcement officials, in the government's most serious shakeup since Russia launched its deadly invasion in February.

The domestic crisis came as the European Union prepared to discuss tightening sanctions against Russia on Monday, and as Kyiv accused Moscow of launching fresh strikes on multiple residential areas in eastern and southern Ukraine.

The new attacks came after Moscow announced it would step up its military operations and Ukraine accused Russia of installing missile launchers at Europe's largest nuclear plant.

Zelensky said he was firing prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova and security chief Ivan Bakanov amid a high number of cases of suspected treason by Ukrainian law enforcement officials.

In a national address, Zelensky said over 650 cases of suspected treason and aiding and abetting Russia by Ukrainian security officials are currently being investigated, including 60 cases of officials who he said have remained in territories occupied by Russia and are "working against our state."

"Such a great number of crimes against the foundations of national security and the connections established between Ukrainian law enforcement officials and Russian special services pose very serious questions to the relevant leaders," Zelensky said.

"Each such question will be answered."

Zelensky also highlighted the devastating military might Moscow has used against Ukraine, saying that as of Sunday Russian forces have launched more than 3,000 cruise missiles on targets in Ukraine.

'High price'

With the conflict grinding on and increasingly spilling out into global energy and food crises, EU foreign ministers are considering banning gold purchases from Russia.

And more Russian figures could also be placed on the EU blacklist.

"Moscow must continue to pay a high price for its aggression," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after forwarding the proposed measures.

Brussels is expected to hold initial sanctions discussions Monday, but not make a same-day decision, according to a senior EU official.

The heaviest fighting continues to focus on the industrial east of Ukraine, and on Sunday, Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko accused Moscow of shelling "civilian infrastructure, especially education institutions".

But Igor Besukh, a chef in the local city of Kramatorsk, just 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the frontline, was determined to stay strong in the face of Russian attacks.

Even after a Friday missile strike on Kramatorsk, which he admits scared him, Besukh continued operating his sushi restaurant, one of the few places still open in the city.

"War is war, but lunch must be served on time," he said, quoting a popular saying.

'Massive shelling'

Near Ukraine's Black Sea coast, the southern city of Mykolaiv came under "massive shelling" Sunday, regional governor Vitaliy Kim said.

Kim added that several residential areas were shelled in the region a day earlier, with three people killed in the village of Shevchenkove and one woman killed in Shyrokiv where a "residential building was destroyed".

In a BBC television interview broadcast Sunday, the head of Britain's armed forces, Admiral Tony Radakin, estimated that 50,000 Russian soldiers had been killed or wounded in the invasion with nearly 1,700 Russian tanks and some 4,000 armoured fighting vehicles destroyed.

Radakin suggested that Russia's land forces may pose less of a threat now, but more than 20 weeks since the invasion began, Moscow said Saturday it would step up its military operations.

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu "gave the necessary instructions to further increase" military pressure, according to his ministry.

The orders come after Ukraine's atomic energy agency accused Russians of installing missile launchers at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and using the facility to shell the Dnipro region.

Russia's defence ministry said in its daily briefing Sunday that it destroyed a "warehouse for Harpoon anti-ship missiles delivered to Ukraine by NATO" in the port city of Odessa.

Ukraine denied the claim, saying Russia destroyed the "storage facility" of a company with no military links.

Hundreds of kilometres from the frontline, Ukraine said missile strikes earlier in the week left 24 dead in the central city Vinnytsia, triggering international condemnation.

Russia's defence ministry said it had targeted a meeting in Vinnytsia of the "command of the Ukrainian Air Force with representatives of foreign arms suppliers".

But a senior US defence official said on condition of anonymity that he had "no indication" there was a military target nearby.

Meanwhile, in Russia, police on Sunday detained journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, who in March interrupted a live TV broadcast to denounce the military action in Ukraine, her lawyer said.

No official statement has been made, but her detention comes days after Ovsyannikova, 44, demonstrated alone near the Kremlin holding a placard criticising Russia's invasion and President Vladimir Putin.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Budapest Post
Close
0:00
0:00
Spain soccer kiss: Furore grows as prosecutors launch probe against federation chief
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Greek PM offers tourists affected by wildfires a free stay in Rhodes next year.
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
How “peacekeepers” at the UN spend our American tax dollars.
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
Swedish Embassy in Baghdad Engulfed in Flames Amidst a Firestorm of Protests
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Muslim Tycoon Asif Aziz Receives Approval for the Transformation of the iconic London Trocadero Landmark into Mosque
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Hospitalized Due to Dehydration Amidst Summer Heatwave
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
×