Ministry of Defense staffing update, shelling of Kherson Oblast, situation near Vuhledar: highlights of the day

Ministry of Defense staffing

On February 13, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree according to which a serviceman with the rank of lieutenant general or vice admiral can be appointed as the first deputy minister of defense of Ukraine.

Prior to that, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov announced a personnel and structural overhaul of the ministry "to improve its efficiency."

However, Reznikov did not name any candidates. At the same time, Vitaliy Deynega, a public figure and founder of the Come Back Alive charity foundation, confirmed that he is running for the post of Deputy Defense Minister for Digital Transformation.

Shelling of Kherson Oblast

On February 13, an employee of a local enterprise was killed in Kherson as a result of Russian shelling. The enemy shells completely destroyed the building of the enterprise's production base.

The occupiers also shelled the village of Inhulets in Kherson Oblast. A woman was killed there. Another local resident was injured.

In addition, the shelling by the Russian occupiers damaged the railroad tracks. As a result, the route of the train No. 102/101 Kyiv-Kherson had to be rerouted, ending in Mykolaiv. The work to restore the railroad track has already been completed. Traffic will resume on schedule on February 14.

Situation near Vuhledar

The Russian occupation forces are actively attacking on the Vuhledar axis. Over the past week, the Ukrainian military managed to destroy 130 units of Russian military equipment.

Oleksiy Dmytrashkivskyi, spokesman for the Joint Press Center of the Tauride Defense Forces, told hromadske that captured occupiers revealed that bribes are commonplace in their units: if you don't want to go to the front line, you have to pay the commander.

Mastering Leopards

Polish and Canadian instructors are training Ukrainian crews of Leopard 2 main battle tanks at the Świętoszów training ground in western Poland. A total of 105 Ukrainian soldiers have arrived in Poland to learn how to operate the tanks.

In Germany, the Ukrainian military has also begun training on Leopard 2 tanks. The training is scheduled to be completed by the end of the first quarter of this year — at the time Ukraine will receive German Leopard 2 tanks.

Personnel for Crimea

After the de-occupation of Crimea, about 50,000 additional people from the government-controlled territory of Ukraine will need to be recruited to work in government and law enforcement agencies.

The Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in Crimea, Tamila Tasheva, said that, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, about 12,500 additional servicemen are needed for the National Guard alone, and another 5,000 for the State Border Guard Service.

Moscow's plans for coup in Moldova

Moldovan President Maia Sandu said that Russia is planning a coup d'état in the country and revealed a number of details.

"The [Russian] plan for the upcoming period involves sabotage involving people with military training disguised as civilians to carry out violent acts, attacks on government buildings and hostage-taking," Sandu said.

According to her, state security agencies are currently working to prevent these provocations.

Hungarian Foreign Minister in Minsk

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó arrived in Minsk on February 13. He promises to promote the idea of peace in Ukraine.

The diplomat noted that the war in Ukraine is becoming more brutal, and more people are dying as a result of the fighting.

Other news

• Law enforcers served a notice of suspicion to former First Deputy Health Minister Oleksandr Komarida. Investigators found out that in his previous position he recommended registering a drug of unproven quality.
• The Armed Forces of Ukraine denied Russian claims that the enemy had seized the village of Krasna Hora near Bakhmut.
• The Security Service has caught a collaborator hiding in the ranks of the Ukrainian Red Cross.
• An explosion occurred on the backup line of the main gas pipeline in Russia's Yaroslavl Oblast.