Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was considering replacing several senior officials, and not just in the military, in order to appoint the best people leading Ukraine.
In an interview broadcast with Italian state RAI television Sunday, Zelenskyy said “a reset is necessary,” as he considers who would be the best people to lead various sectors in Ukraine. “I am talking about a replacement of a number of state leaders, not only in the army sector. I am reflecting on this replacement... Is a question for the entire leadership of the country."
Rumors are swirling that the Ukrainian president is about to dismiss his top military chief, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi. According to Reuters, the two men have been reportedly at odds over the direction of the war in Ukraine.
"If we want to win, we must all push in the same direction, we cannot be discouraged, we must have the right and positive energy, negativity must be left at home. We can't take on giving-up attitudes," Zelenskyy said.
Last November, Zelenskyy rebuked Zaluzhnyi for telling a Western media outlet that the war in Ukraine had entered a new phase of attrition.
However, the removal of "the Iron General," as the extremely popular Zaluzhnyi is nicknamed, could hurt morale among Ukrainian troops battling to hold positions along more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) of front lines against a vast Russian force armed with large munitions stockpiles, according to Reuters.
Earlier Sunday, Zelenskyy visited Ukrainian troops on the southeastern front.
During his working visit, Zelenskyy awarded medals to pilots and was briefed on a series of Russian attacks on targets in the Dnipropetrovsk region and on how to use Western and hybrid air defense systems to protect Ukraine’s skies.
In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy praised the country’s troops for fighting so valiantly on the front lines and said that Ukraine is working to enhance the ability to shoot down missiles and drones.
“Our air force servicemen, mobile firing groups, everyone who is combating Russian aerial terror specifically deserve our gratitude and further reinforcement. We are preparing new talks with our partners to this end,” he said.
Dozens killed; drones downed
At least 28 people died Saturday in an attack on a popular bakery in a city in occupied eastern Ukraine, Russia’s emergency ministry said, blaming Ukrainian shelling.
The Russian emergency ministry said on the messaging app Telegram that the bodies, including that of a child, were recovered from the rubble in Lysychansk.
According to Russian-installed officials, U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) were used in the attack. The officials said that the average age of the victims was 35, according to Russia’s state-run Tass news agency.
Lysychansk had a population of about 110,000 before Russia’s invasion. It fell to Russia in the summer of 2022 and is 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Ukrainian-controlled territory.
Also Saturday, Ukraine’s air force said that it downed nine of 14 Russian drones targeting Ukraine’s central and southern regions.
The Iranian-made Shahed drones were mainly aimed at "energy infrastructure facilities" in the Dnipropetrovsk region, according to air force officials.
The town most affected by the attack was Krivy Rig, Zelenskyy’s hometown. Zelenskyy said energy workers "are striving to restore electricity to all consumers as quickly as possible."
No deaths or injuries were reported, but Agence France-Presse reported that 15,000 people were without electricity.
Some material for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
