Russia applies more pressure in Donetsk
Fierce battles are raging in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region as Russia intensifies pressure before the first anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
"Things are very difficult in Donetsk region - fierce battles," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address on Sunday. "But however difficult it is and however much pressure there is, we must endure ... We have no alternative to defending ourselves and winning."
Russia, he said, was applying increased pressure to "make up for its defeats last year. We see that on various sectors of the front and also pressure in terms of information."
Meanwhile, Ukraine sent mixed messages over the fate of its defence minister yesterday, leaving a key post in its war effort in doubt even as it braces for a new Russian offensive.
A day after announcing that Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov would be replaced, a top ally of Zelensky appeared to row back for now, saying no personnel changes in the defence sector would be made this week.
David Arakhamia, chief of the parliamentary bloc of Zelensky's party, had said Reznikov would be made minister of strategic industries, while the head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, would take over the defence ministry.
But Zelensky remained silent on the issue, while Reznikov himself said on Sunday he had not been informed of any move, and would reject the strategic industry job if offered it.
The doubt over the minister's fate comes as Russian forces have been advancing for the first time in half a year in relentless battles in the east. A regional governor said Moscow was pouring reinforcements into eastern Ukraine for a new offensive that could come as soon as next week.
Two senior lawmakers yesterday noted that rules require Ukraine's defence minister to be a civilian, which would appear to put an obstacle in the way of the immediate appointment of Budanov, a 37-year-old military officer.
Removing Reznikov, who has been warmly received in Western capitals including Paris just last week, would be the highest profile reshuffle in a slew of resignations and sackings in recent weeks, some of which followed corruption scandals, reports Reuters.
Ukraine has a decades-long reputation for graft, and Zelensky is under pressure to demonstrate the country can be a reliable steward of billions of dollars in Western military and civilian aid. In announcing a personnel purge last month, Zelensky pledged to meet Western standards of clean governance.
Reznikov, a lawyer by profession, has not been publicly implicated in any scandals. But one of his deputies and several other officials have left, and prosecutors have announced a probe into allegations that a defence ministry contract would have corruptly overpaid for food for troops.
Arakhamia said Ukraine's armed forces should not be overseen by politicians during wartime, but by people with a background in defence or security.
"War dictates changes in personnel policy," he wrote on the Telegram messaging app on Sunday.
Reznikov said on Sunday that any decision on a reshuffle was up to Zelensky, but told the Ukrainian Fakty ICTV online media that a planned transfer to a new ministry was news to him.
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