Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday began a cabinet reshuffle, proposing to appoint Sergei Shoigu's successor as defense minister as he begins his fifth term.
In accordance with Russian law, the entire Russian cabinet resigned on Tuesday following Putin's glittering inauguration in the Kremlin, and while most are widely expected to remain in office, Shoigu's fate appears uncertain. There is.
According to the Kremlin, President Putin on Sunday signed a decree appointing Shoigu as secretary of Russia's State Security Council. The appointment was announced shortly after Putin proposed Andrei Belousov to replace Shoigu as defense minister.
Belousov's candidacy must be approved by Russia's upper house of parliament, the Federation Council. The newspaper reported on Sunday that Putin had also proposed candidates for other cabinet positions, but Shoigu was the only one on the list to be replaced. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, who was reappointed by President Putin on Friday, proposed several other new candidates for the federal cabinet on Saturday.
Mr Shoigu's deputy, Timur Ivanov, was arrested last month on suspicion of bribery and ordered to be detained pending an official investigation. Mr. Ivanov's arrest was widely interpreted as an attack on Mr. Shoigu and a possible precursor to his removal, despite his close personal ties to President Putin.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday that Putin's decision to give the role of defense minister to a civilian was because the ministry should be “open to innovation and cutting-edge ideas” and Belosov, who until recently served as first deputy prime minister, has decided to become defense minister. Perfect for work.
Tatyana Stanovaya, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia and Eurasia Center, said in an online commentary that Shoigu's new appointment to Russia's Security Council is a sign that Russian leaders see the body as a political holding place. He said that it shows that
Figures such as former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have also been appointed to the Security Council, and Medvedev has been vice-chairman of the Security Council since 2020.
“The Security Council is becoming a hangout for President Putin's 'former' key figures, people he cannot part with but has no place for,” Stanovaya wrote on social media.
The announcement of Shoigu's new role came amid reports that 12 people were killed and another 20 injured in the Russian border city of Belgorod. In Belgorod, Russian authorities said some houses were destroyed by shelling by Ukrainian forces.
Thousands more civilians flee Russia's flare-up in Ukraine ground attack in northeastern Ukraine Target towns and villages Officials said Sunday there was a barrage of artillery and mortar fire.
Heavy fighting forced at least one Ukrainian military unit to withdraw. Kharkiv regionsurrendered more land to Russian forces across poorly defended settlements in the so-called disputed gray zone along Russia's border.
By Sunday afternoon, the city of Vovtyansk, the largest town in the northeast with a pre-war population of 17,000, had emerged as the focus of the fighting.
Kharkiv regional police chief Volodymyr Timoshko said Russian troops were on the outskirts of the town and approaching from three directions.
“The infantry fighting has already begun,” he said.
Tymoshko said Russian tanks were spotted along the main road leading into the town, showing the Russian government was confident in deploying heavy weapons.
An Associated Press team in a nearby village saw Russian troops hurling shells and smoke billowing from the town. Evacuation teams worked tirelessly throughout the day to get residents, most of them elderly, out of danger.
At least 4,000 civilians have been evacuated from the Kharkov region since Friday, when Moscow's forces launched the operation, Governor Oleh Sinyevov said in a social media statement. He said heavy fighting broke out along the northeastern front on Sunday, with Russian forces attacking 27 settlements in the past 24 hours.
Analysts say the Russian attack is planned to take advantage of ammunition shortages. promised to supply Western countries You can reach the front line.
Ukrainian soldiers said the Kremlin was following the usual Russian tactic of launching disproportionate amounts of artillery and infantry attacks to deplete troops and firepower. By escalating the fighting that has so far been a static part of the front, Russian forces threaten to overwhelm Ukrainian forces in the northeast, while fierce fighting is taking place further south, where Russian forces are also gaining ground. .
This comes after Russia stepped up attacks targeting energy infrastructure and residential areas in March, which analysts expected to be a joint effort. prepare the conditions for the attack.
meanwhile, 10-story apartment building partially destroyed At least 12 people were killed and 20 injured in Belgorod, near the border. Russian authorities said the building collapsed after being hit by Ukrainian military artillery fire. Ukraine has not commented on the incident.
Russia's Defense Ministry said on Sunday that Russian troops had captured four border villages along Ukraine's Kharkiv region, as well as five villages It was reported that it was seized on Saturday. These areas may have been poorly defended due to the dynamic fighting and constant heavy artillery bombardment, which facilitated the Russian advance.
Ukraine's leadership does not recognize Moscow's interests. However, Kharkov regional police chief Timoshko said that Strylecha, Pirna and Borsivika were under Russian occupation and that it was on Russian instructions that he brought in infantry to attack the other warring villages of Hriboke and Lukiansi. Stated.
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Associated Press reporter Samiya Crabb in Kiev, Ukraine. Vasilisa Stepanenko in Vilcha, Ukraine, and Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, UK, contributed to this report.
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Follow AP's coverage of the Ukraine war. https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
