Ukraine ‘riddled with traitors’: Zelensky
KYIV: Ukraine is facing a new turmoil as President Volodymyr Zelensky sacked two top law enforcement officials amid a high number of cases of suspected treason.
Mr Zelensky said he was firing prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova and security chief Ivan Bakanov, as he told the country in his daily address more than 650 cases of suspected treason and aiding and abetting Russia by Ukrainian security officials were being investigated.
He said there were 60 cases of officials who have remained in territories occupied by Russia and are “working against our state”.
Mr Zelensky also highlighted the devastating military might Moscow has used against Ukraine, saying Russian forces had launched more than 3000 cruise missiles on targets in Ukraine.
The domestic crisis came as the EU prepared to discuss tightening sanctions against Russia, and as Kyiv accused Moscow of launching fresh strikes on residential areas.
The new attacks came after Moscow announced it would step up its military operations.
With the conflict grinding on and increasingly spilling out into global energy and food crises, EU foreign ministers are considering banning gold purchases from Russia. “Moscow must continue to pay a high price for its aggression,” EC President Ursula von der Leyen said.
In a BBC interview broadcast on Sunday, the head of Britain’s armed forces, Admiral Tony Radakin, estimated 50,000 Russian soldiers had been killed or wounded in the invasion with nearly 1700 Russian tanks and 4000 armoured vehicles destroyed.