The poor performance of Russia’s armed forces during its invasion of Ukraine appears to have led to a shakeup in command, the British Defense Ministry said Sunday.
Gen. Aleksandr Vladimirovich Dvornikov, who had been charged with overall command of the operation in Ukraine, was removed from his post last week, the ministry said. General-Colonel Aleksandr Zhuravlev, who had commanded Russia’s Western Military District since 2018, was absent from Russia’s Navy Day in St Petersburg a week ago and has likely been replaced, the ministry said in its assessment of the war.
Another general was relieved of command of the Southern Grouping Forces, the ministry said.
“These dismissals are compounded by at least 10 Russian Generals killed on the battlefield in Ukraine,” the assessment said. “The cumulative effect on consistency of command is likely contributing to Russian tactical and operational difficulties.”
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Latest developments:
►Five civilians have been killed in recent Russian and separatist attacks on cities in the Donetsk region, the part of Donbas still under Ukrainian control, regional governor Serhiy Haidai reported.
►The city of Mykolaiv, an important shipbuilding center close to Ukraine’s largest port in Odessa, is now facing daily Russian bombardments, local officials say.
►The Russian invasion that started Feb. 24 “is about to enter a new phase” in which the fighting would shift west and south along a 217-mile line that extends from near the city of Zaporizhzhia to Russian-occupied Kherson, Britain’s Defense Ministry said.
Four more grain shipments roll out of Ukraine ports
Four more ships carrying agricultural cargo held up by the war in Ukraine have received authorization to leave the country’s Black Sea ports. The body overseeing an international deal intended to get 20 million tons of grain out of Ukraine to feed people in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia said the loaded vessels were cleared to depart on Sunday. Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations agreed last month to create a sea corridor that would allow cargo ships to travel safely from Ukraine’s southern coast.
‘Every principle of nuclear safety has been violated’ at Ukraine plant
Ukraine’s nuclear power plant operator Energoatom reported that Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, located in southeast Ukraine, came under Russian fire late Saturday. Shelling at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station damaged three radiation monitors and injured one worker.
Russian forces have occupied the station for months. Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, recently said he was worried about the way the plant was being run and the fighting taking place around it posed serious health and environmental threats.
“Every principle of nuclear safety has been violated” at the plant, Grossi said.
Ukraine’s Amnesty International leader resigns in protest
The head of Ukraine’s Amnesty International chapter has resigned after the human rights organization released a report claiming Ukrainian forces put civilians in harm’s way by basing themselves in populated areas. In a Facebook post, Oksana Pokalchuk accused Amnesty International of failing to recognize the realities of war in Ukraine and ignoring the advice of staff members, who urged the group to review its report.
The report, which drew the ire of top Ukrainian officials and Western scholars of international and military law, alleged that Ukrainian forces violated international humanitarian laws by setting up bases and operating weapons systems in schools, hospitals and other populated areas.
Pokalchuk claimed that Ukraine’s Defense Ministry was not given adequate time to respond to the findings, calling the report a “tool of Russian propaganda.” Russian forces have defended attacks in civilian areas by suggesting that Ukrainian fighters set up firing positions at the targeted locations.
Contributing: Ella Lee, USA TODAY; Associated Press
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism