The former gets a new job. / Volodymyr Zelenskyy changes commanders in eastern Ukraine
After major losses of territory since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has replaced the commander of the armed forces in eastern Ukraine. The head of state dismissed Hryhorij Halahan by decree on Monday and installed Viktor Horenko in his place.
The 44-year-old Major General Halahan had led the “special operation” in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions since August 2020, it said. The war in the eastern Donbass region began in 2014. Zelenskyj announced in his evening video message that Halahan would be transferred to the secret service. He was therefore appointed deputy head of the anti-terrorist center of the secret service SBU.
Luhansk and Donetsk almost under Russian control
After Russia’s invasion in February, Ukraine has now completely lost control of the Luhansk region. About half of the neighboring Donetsk region was conquered by Russian troops. Before February 24, just under 30 percent of the areas were controlled by pro-Russian separatists. Selenskyj had recently complained that Kyiv no longer had 20 percent of Ukrainian territory under its control.
Meanwhile, the General Staff in Kyiv reported that Russian units had achieved combat successes at the Wuhlehirsk coal-fired power plant in the Donetsk region. Attacks in the direction of the towns of Bakhmut and Siwersk were repelled on the neighboring sector of the front. Russian attacks in the Kharkiv region also failed. Several dozen places, especially in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, were shelled by artillery or bombed by the air force, it said. The information could not be independently verified.
Since the Russian invasion five months ago, the United Nations has officially registered more than 5,200 civilian deaths. However, significantly more people died in the war.
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