"Personnel decisions" in government and ban on officials' travel: last night's highlights
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced “personnel decisions”, the Pentagon informed when the first Bradley infantry fighting vehicles would arrive in Ukraine, and Ukrainian officials would no longer be able to travel abroad for non—state purposes. Here is what you may have missed from the previous night.
“Personnel decisions”
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced “personnel decisions” regarding managers of various levels. Media reports say that the deputy head of the Presidential Office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, wrote a letter of resignation. According to journalists' sources, it is planned to appoint Oleksii Kuleba, the head of the Kyiv Regional Military District Administration, as his replacement.
The heads of the military-civilian administrations of Sumy, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions may also resign.
In addition, MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak said that Deputy Prosecutor General Oleksii Symonenko was also dismissed.
Rheinmetall may supply 139 Leopard tanks to Ukraine
The German concern Rheinmetall can supply Ukraine with a total of 139 Leopard battle tanks of various models if the German government decides to do so. However, only fifty of them will be modern Leopard 2 tanks, and most of them will not be delivered sooner than a year from now.
Ban on the travel of officials
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a decision of the National Security and Defense Council to ban officials from traveling abroad for non-state purposes. The decision applies to officials of central and various levels of local government, as well as law enforcement officers, MPs, and prosecutors.
Now, within five days, the Cabinet of Ministers must develop a procedure for officials to cross the border so that only a real business trip can be the reason.
Shelling of Chasiv Yar
As a result of the shelling of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast by Russian occupation forces, one person was killed and two others were wounded. The occupiers hit a residential area with a multiple rocket launcher system. At least nine multi-story buildings were damaged, electricity and gas supply networks to the neighborhood were cut off.
Sanctions against Russian Orthodox Church figures
Volodymyr Zelenskyy enacted the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine to impose personal sanctions against 22 representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church. Among them are metropolitans and priests responsible, in particular, for external church relations.
The sanctions include blocking assets, restricting trade operations, completely stopping the transit of resources, flights, and transportation through the territory of Ukraine, stopping the provision of electronic communication services and the use of electronic communication networks in Ukraine, and more.
When will the first Bradley infantry fighting vehicles arrive?
The first M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, which delivery the United States announced recently, are expected to arrive in Ukraine in the “relatively near future”. It is about the coming weeks, the Pentagon said.
The largest military exercises of the United States and Israel
On January 23, the United States and Israel launched their largest joint military exercises in history. They will involve nearly 8,000 soldiers and one and a half hundred aircraft. In this way, the countries sent a “clear signal” to Iran and emphasized the strength of their alliance, CNN writes.
The military exercises will cover all areas of warfare, including space and electronic warfare.
Other news:
- The Swedish government has authorized the state-owned Svenska kraftnät to transfer equipment to Ukraine that is needed to restore the power system after Russian shelling.
- A man who tried to smuggle 2.5 million rubles in his socks was detained at Odesa customs.
- In the United States, a former senior official of the Federal Bureau of Investigation was charged with working for Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who is under Western sanctions.
- The Ukrainian Book Institute surveyed publishers and booksellers and identified the bestsellers in the Ukrainian book market in 2022. The selection includes two bestsellers from 33 publishers, as well as 6 bestsellers from the five largest booksellers.
- A physics teacher from the city of Sloviansk, Donetsk Oblast, was sentenced to 8 years in prison for passing information about the Armed Forces of Ukraine to the Russian occupiers.
- Share: