Russia-Ukraine War: Ukraine Overhauls Senior Ranks of Defense Ministry

The determination to disregard the deputies was made astatine a furniture meeting, according to a authorities connection posted connected the Telegram messaging app connected Monday. The authorities did not springiness a crushed for the move. It was not instantly known whether the dismissals were related to Mr. Zelensky’s replacement earlier this month of Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov with Rustem Umerov. At that time, Mr. Zelensky cited the request for “new approaches.”

The lawman defence ministers included Hanna Maliar, who has emerged successful caller months arsenic 1 of the astir salient authorities communicators of the regular question of Ukraine’s counteroffensive.

Ms. Maliar continued to station updates connected the Telegram messaging app astir the counteroffensive connected Monday, hours earlier her dismissal.

The authorities caput for defense, Kostiantyn Vashchenko, was besides dismissed, the connection said. There was nary accusation connected who would regenerate the lawman ministers.

When Mr. Reznikov was replaced, officials said that the authorities recognized the request for caller enactment much than 500 days aft Russia launched its full-scale invasion. Ukrainian civilian nine groups had complained astir a bid of contracting scandals involving his ministry.

The authorities has been investigating accusations of corruption associated with the ministry, which has gained nationalist prominence due to the fact that of the war. The main of the equipped forces, Valery Zaluzhny, is 1 of the ministry’s astir elder officials.

Since June, Ukraine has pursued a counteroffensive aimed astatine retaking onshore successful the southbound and eastbound of the country, but it has not penetrated Russia’s defenses decisively. The authorities has pressed for much weapons from NATO allies and aggressively pursued rank successful the alliance.

Mr. Zelensky’s diplomatic propulsion is meant to blunt vexation from immoderate allies astir the advancement of a counteroffensive, which helium acknowledged was not going “very fast,” according to an interrogation helium gave CBS News’ “60 Minutes” that aired connected Sunday. Peace efforts, astatine times led by the Vatican, Turkey and China, person not yielded immoderate advancement oregon factual results. And some Mr. Zelensky and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia person said that conditions bash not beryllium to beryllium down for talks aft astir 19 months of war. Jens Stoltenberg, the caput wide of NATO, precocious warned allies to hole for a “long war.”

Here is what other to ticker for this week:

• The United Nations’ highest tribunal resumed hearings connected Monday successful a lawsuit Ukraine brought successful the aboriginal days of the war, accusing Russia of violating a 1948 U.N. pact criminalizing genocide that some countries are enactment to. Russia volition contiguous its objections connected Monday, and the tribunal volition perceive Ukraine’s arguments connected Tuesday.

• Russia’s overseas minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, volition hold talks successful Moscow connected Monday with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi. Mr. Biden’s nationalist information adviser, Jake Sullivan, met with Mr. Yi implicit the play and expressed concerns that China would assistance Russia successful its war, the White House said.

• Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal newsman jailed successful Russia, volition entreaty his pretrial detention connected Tuesday. Mr. Gershkovich met connected Friday with the U.S. ambassador to Russia, Lynne M. Tracy. Mr. Gershkovich’s household has appealed to satellite leaders and the United Nations for assistance securing his merchandise connected charges that they and the U.S. authorities accidental are false.

Bulgaria’s Defense Ministry said successful a connection that it had sent a squad from the Navy aboriginal Monday to analyse the debris, which was discovered overnight adjacent a vessel dock. The squad determined that a mortar was attached to the drone’s wreckage and destroyed it, it said in a consequent statement.

As members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Romania and Bulgaria are protected nether the alliance’s committedness to communal defense, which considers an onslaught connected 1 subordinate arsenic an onslaught connected all. Romania has avoided immoderate proposition that it mightiness invoke Article 5 of the NATO treaty, the cornerstone of the associated defence pact, implicit the drone debris.

There was nary contiguous remark from the Russian Defense Ministry, which mentioned warring adjacent Klishchiivka successful a Sunday evening update, and the claims could not instantly beryllium independently confirmed.

In caller weeks, Kyiv’s troops had been dilatory advancing connected Klishchiivka, taking dense casualties. On Friday, the Ukrainian subject said its forces had gained power of Andriivka, a farming hamlet a small much than 2 miles to the south.

Then connected Sunday evening, the 80th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade posted a video of soldiers holding the yellow-and-blue emblem of Ukraine successful beforehand of a ruined gathering and a destroyed religion arsenic booms echoed.

“The colony of Klishchiivka was yet freed,” work the video’s caption connected Facebook, crediting its fighters and those from 2 different brigades.

Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky, the commandant of Ukraine’s crushed forces, soon announced the news, penning connected Telegram that Klishchiivka had been “cleared of the Russians,” and successful his nightly address, President Volodymyr Zelensky commended the soldiers.

“Klishchiivka! Well done!” he said.

Thomas Gibbons-Neff contributed reporting.

Last winter, Russia sought to weaponize the weather, a run that yet failed but astatine times near millions of Ukrainians without vigor and reliant connected aged wells for water. This year, Ukraine is boldly threatening to bash the aforesaid to Russians, relying chiefly connected onslaught drones.

In caller months, the frequence of drones fired astatine Russian targets has accrued drastically. They person hit a cardinal bridge linking the Crimean Peninsula with Russia, precocious damaged Russian naval ships successful the region and menaced the borderline region of Belgorod. They person besides penetrated heavy wrong Russian borders — arsenic acold arsenic the greater Moscow portion — but person not caused important harm there.

Ukraine does not officially admit attacks wrong Russian territory adjacent though Mr. Zelensky and different apical officials person said that they mean to bring the warfare to mean Russians. In the “60 Minutes” interview, Mr. Zelensky again tried to beryllium ambiguous astir the strikes adjacent though helium said, “Ukrainian drones person vaulted into Russia itself, hitting the Kremlin, warplanes and Moscow precocious rises.”

He went connected to importune that helium was not ordering the drone attacks and that Ukraine uses weapons provided by its allies lone connected Ukrainian territory.

“But Russia needs to cognize that wherever it is, whichever spot they usage for launching missiles to onslaught Ukraine, Ukraine has each motivation close to nonstop a effect to those places,” Mr. Zelensky said. “We are responding to them saying: ‘Your entity is not arsenic good protected arsenic you think.’”