The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made his first trip to the war-torn eastern region on Sunday since the Russia stepped into Ukraine to call a full-scale invasion on February 24. Russian military tightened its grip around major cities in the Donbas region.
After visiting Kharkiv, Zelenskyy has made an announcement that he had fired the northeastern city’s security chief in a rare public rebuke.
Zelenskyy added that the man was dismissed “for not working to defend the city from the first days of the full-scale war, but thinking only of himself,” and that while others had toiled “very effectively”, the former chief had not.
Although the president did not name the official, Ukrainian media reports identified him as Roman Dudin, the head of the Kharkiv region’s SBU security service.
With the war devastating much of his nation, the Ukrainian president is to set to speak via video link Monday to European Union leaders in Brussels as they seek to break a deadlock on the Russian oil embargo.
Russia, since failing to capture the capital region of Kyiv in the early stages of the war and then retreating from the Kharkiv area, has shifted its focus to the eastern Donbas region.
Its forces said on Saturday they had captured the town of Lyman in the contested region and were upping the pressure on the twin cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk.
Zelenskyy has been based in Kyiv since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale military operation against Ukraine.
Zelenskyy further said, “In this war, the occupiers are trying to squeeze out at least some result.”
He added, “But they should have understood long ago that we will defend our land to the last man.”
While one-third of the Kharkiv region remained under Russian control, Zelenskyy said, “We will for sure liberate the entire area. We are doing everything we can to contain this offensive.”