The head of Ukraine’s security service has been fired for alleged “treason”.
Chairperson Volodymyr Zelenskyy also fired Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova amid claims dozens of employees in her office were “working against our state”.
“The series of crimes against the foundation of the state’s national security, and the documented connections between Ukrainian security forces and Russian special services, raise very questions,” Zelenskyy said. serious about their respective leaders.”
Ivan Bakanov, head of the Security Service of Ukraine (known as SBU), is a longtime friend of Mr. Zelenskyy, according to Ukrainian news agencies.
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The news comes as former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev warned that any foreign attack on the Crimea region would lead to a “Judgment Day”.
Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in the Black Sea from Ukraine in 2014.
Moscow also later supported armed pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
According to Russia’s TASS news agency, in the event of an attack on Crimea, Mr. Medvedev said: “Judgment Day will come very quickly and hard. It will be difficult to hide.”
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Russia ends ‘operational pause’
US warns against move that would ‘endanger humanity’
Medvedev’s statement came a day after a Ukrainian official suggested that Crimea, which most of the world still recognizes as part of Ukraine, could be a target for US-made HIMARS missiles. recently implemented by Kyiv.
Prime Minister Medvedev has previously warned the United States of the dangers of trying to punish a nuclear power like Russia for its actions in Ukraine, saying it could “endanger humanity”.
‘The new reality has begun’ – listen to Ukraine War Diaries
Russian mayor Oleksandr Senkevych said that on the front lines on Sunday, Russian missiles continued to hit industrial facilities in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv.
Mykolaiv has faced frequent attacks in recent weeks as the Russians seek to soften Ukraine’s defence.
The Russian military has announced its goal of cutting off Ukraine’s entire Black Sea coast as far as the Romanian border.
If successful, such an effort would deal a major blow to Ukraine’s economy and trade, while also allowing Moscow to secure a land bridge to Moldova’s breakaway Transnistria region, home to a military base of Russia.
