Volodymyr Zelensky fired the head of the country’s security service and the state prosecutor, citing hundreds of cases of alleged treason and cooperation with Russia, in the biggest shake-up since the war with the neighbor began.
The Ukrainian president announced that he was firing Prosecutor General Irina Venediktova and the head of the Internal Security Service and childhood friend Ivan Bakanov.
Both senior officials played a crucial role in Ukraine’s response to Russia’s attack. Ms. Venediktova led efforts to prosecute Russian war crimes, while Mr. Bakanov, appointed by Mr. Zelensky, ran the country’s secret service operations.
The president said more than 60 officers from the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, and the prosecutor’s office were working against Ukraine in Russian-occupied territories, and 651 cases of treason and collaboration had been filed against law enforcement officials.
“Such a set of crimes against the foundations of the state’s national security … raises very serious questions for the relevant leaders,” Mr Zelensky said. “Each of these questions will be answered appropriately.”
In his evening address, Mr Zelensky also said the latest findings justified his move to fire a senior security official who had previously overseen SBU activities in Crimea at the start of the invasion.
“Sufficient evidence has been gathered to report this person on suspicion of treason.” All his criminal activity is documented,” he said.
On Monday, President Zelensky announced that Vasil Malyuk would replace Mr. Bakanov and was given the role of acting head of the State Security Service.
The dismissals come as Russia appears to be ramping up its military operations and the European Union was due to discuss tightening sanctions against Moscow on Monday.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Saturday ordered military units to step up operations to prevent Ukrainian strikes on Russian-controlled areas, according to a ministry statement.
Ukrainian military intelligence later reported shelling along the entire front line in what it said was preparation for the next stage of the Russian offensive. It also said Russia appeared to be regrouping units for an offensive on Slavyansk, a symbolically important Ukrainian-held city in the eastern Donetsk region.
Britain’s Ministry of Defense said in its latest update on Monday that Russia had used private military company Wagner, which employs prisoners and ex-blacklists, to bolster frontline forces and mitigate staff shortages and losses.
Ahead of talks with the EU, Mr Zelensky said Russia had used more than 3,000 cruise missiles so far and it was “impossible to count” the number of artillery and other strikes so far.
Attacks on residential buildings are frequently reported with thousands of civilians killed. More than six million have also been forced to leave Ukraine since the invasion began and eight million internally displaced, according to the United Nations.
Ukraine and the West accuse Russian forces of war crimes, but Moscow rejects the accusations and still calls it a military operation instead of an invasion.
Additional accountability from agencies
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