KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday fired longtime aides and several advisers in a continuing shakeup as Russia launched new attacks overnight.
President Zelenskiy has dismissed his chief of staff, Serhiy Shefir, from his post as first aide, a position he had held since 2019. Ukraine’s president also dismissed three aides and two presidential representatives overseeing volunteer work and soldiers’ rights.
There was no immediate explanation for the latest change in a wide range of personnel changes in recent months. This included Tuesday’s dismissal of Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, and military chief Valery Zarzhiny on February 8. He was appointed Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK earlier this month.
Ukraine’s air force said on Saturday that Russia launched 12 Shahid drones during the night, nine of which were shot down, and fired four missiles into eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine’s military said in a social media post that Russia had launched a barrage of 38 missiles, 75 airstrikes and 98 multiple rocket launcher attacks in the past 24 hours.
Zelensky nominates former commander-in-chief Zarzhiny as next British ambassador, eliminating his biggest political rivalhttps://t.co/4m2Kqpvu7v
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 9, 2024
Ukrainian energy company Centrenergo announced on Saturday that the Zmyiv thermal power plant, one of the largest thermal power plants in eastern Kharkiv, was completely destroyed following Russian shelling last week. Blackout plans were still in place for about 120,000 people in the region, where 700,000 people lost power after power plants were damaged on March 22.
In recent days, Russia has escalated its attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, causing significant damage in multiple regions.
Poltava regional authorities said on Saturday that there had been “several collisions” at infrastructure facilities, but did not say whether they were energy facilities.
Meanwhile, damage from the massive barrage of 99 drones and missiles that struck areas across Ukraine on Friday became clear on Saturday, with local authorities in the Kherson region announcing the death of one civilian on Saturday morning. . One resident of the Dnipropetrovsk region died in hospital from shell wounds, according to Dnipropetrovsk region governor Serhiy Rysak.
Ukraine steps up funding for homemade ammunition and weapons https://t.co/iP7AauIA8a
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 28, 2024
