Claims of Zaluzhnyi's dismissal, visit of Hungarian foreign minister: highlights for January 29

Claims of Zaluzhnyi's dismissal

A number of media outlets, citing their own sources, wrote that Volodymyr Zelenskyy had allegedly signed an order to dismiss Valerii Zaluzhnyi from the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. However, the order was not made public.

Against this background, the Ministry of Defense stated: "Dear journalists, we would like to answer everyone right away: no, this is not true." However, they did not specify what exactly was untrue, because in parallel with the information about Zaluzhnyi's resignation, there were statements about the appointment of the current head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, as Commander-in-Chief.

Subsequently, President Zelenskyy's spokesman, Sergiy Nykyforov, denied the information about Zaluzhnyi's dismissal in a comment to hromadske.

Hungarian Minister Szijjártó visits Ukraine

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and his delegation arrived in Uzhhorod. There, Hungarian officials held talks with the Ukrainian side. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry noted that the talks were organized to normalize Ukrainian-Hungarian relations.

The head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Dmytro Kuleba, summarized the talks with his Hungarian counterpart as "frank, sincere, and constructive." The two countries agreed to set up a joint commission at the government level on the rights of the Hungarian minority in Zakarpattya.

New head of the Defense Procurement Agency

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has appointed a new head of the state-owned Defense Procurement Agency – Maryna Bezrukova.

"The Ministry of Defense is building a new procurement architecture that will make corruption impossible and will meet NATO standards," said Deputy Defense Minister Dmytro Klimenkov.

Vitaliy Shabunin, head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center, called Bezrukova "one of the best candidates for the position."

Situation on the east bank of the Dnipro River

Ukrainian troops in the south are expanding their footholds on the east bank of the Dnipro River. Against this backdrop, the occupation forces have resumed assault operations.

However, the head of the Joint Coordination Press Center of the Southern Defense Forces, Natalia Humeniuk, stressed that despite the expansion of footholds, the front line is "very flexible and under pressure from enemy units."

Russian media claim that a family was shot dead in occupied Kreminna

The Russian news outlet ASTRA claims that in the temporarily occupied town of Kreminna, Luhansk Oblast, Russian soldiers shot three people: a woman, her daughter, and son-in-law. Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on this information.

According to the channel, one Russian serviceman has already been detained on shooting charges, and two more are wanted.

New charges for Berkut officers

The State Bureau of Investigation has pressed charges against former commanders of the Berkut special forces. According to the investigation, they tried to destroy the weapons used by their subordinates to kill protesters during the Revolution of Dignity.

24 assault rifles, one Dragunov sniper rifle, three Fort-500 rifles, and a Fort-12 rifle were destroyed.

They were indicted under three articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which provide for a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Other news

• The Armed Forces of Ukraine denied Russian information about the capture of a village in Kharkiv Oblast.
• The European Union has extended sanctions against Russia for another six months.
• President Zelenskyy said It is wrong for the military commissariats to look for people on the streets. The new law should change this.
• The government has registered two bills to reboot the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine. They have already been criticized.
• In Donetsk Oblast, forced evacuation from villages in two territorial communities was announced.
• American inspectors have arrived in Kyiv to check the assistance provided.