In the middle of the war, they were relieved of their duties. The Ukrainian Parliament voted, Tuesday, July 19, in favor of the dismissal of the head of the security services and the country’s Attorney General. These two senior officials are accused by the government of not having obtained sufficient results in the fight against Russian infiltration. On the forehead, theRussian troops hit residential buildings in Avdiivka, Soledar and Bakhmout. Franceinfo takes stock of the situation in Ukraine, on the 146th day of war.
In the Donbass, several targeted residential buildings
The Ukrainian presidency claims that Russian troops again hit residential buildings, this time in Avdiivka, Soledar and Bakhmout. She also identified “bombing of industrial zones”, especially in Kramatorsk.
AFP, for its part, noted the destruction caused by a missile which fell at the end of the morning in a small garden surrounded by blocks of buildings in Kramatorsk. “At this stage, we have a death”told AFP Igor Yeskov, in charge of communication at the town hall of the city, while a senior police official reported six injuries.
Ukraine wants more precision artillery systems
Ukraine’s Defense Minister has asked the West to provide significantly more precision artillery systems. Oleksiy Reznikov says they could “game changer on the battlefield” and allow a counter-offensive against the Russian soldiers.
Since mid-June, the United States has delivered several Himars precision artillery systems with a range of 80 km, and must deliver others. “These systems allowed us to destroy about thirty command posts and ammunition storage warehousessaid the Minister. For an effective counter-offensive, we would need at least 100 [Himars]I think.”
A bonus of 100 dollars to denounce the collaborators of the Russians
The Mykolaiv region, located in the south of Ukraine, offers a bonus of 100 dollars for those who will help identify the collaborators of the Russians. On his Telegram account, Governor Vitali Kim invites to provide information on “those who reveal to the occupiers the places of deployment of Ukrainian troops” or help them establish the coordinates of potential bombing targets. “After careful verification and confirmation of the information provided, you will receive a bonus of 100 dollars”he wrote.
The governor has also indicated that he plans to “close” the city of Mykolaiv for a few days in order to neutralize the traitors and collaborators of the Russians. “We want to put an end to it. We are considering measures regarding the curfew. We have a large database. We will close the city for a few days, we will go and knock on the door of the wrong people”he told Khodorkovsky Live.
Ukrainian parliament votes to dismiss security service chief and general prosecutor
They are relieved of their duties. The Ukrainian parliament voted on Tuesday to dismiss the head of the security services (SBU), Ivan Bakanov, and the general prosecutor, Iryna Venediktova. Andriy Smirnov, deputy head of the presidency, said on Monday that it was “to avoid any influence of these two officials on the criminal investigations against members of the security services and the prosecution suspected of cooperation with Russia”.
More than 650 surveys for “high treason” and “collaboration” with Moscow are targeting collaborators of the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office and law enforcement agencies, which raises “very serious questions” about the work of the two leaders, stressed President Volodymyr Zelensky.
France will deliver its six additional Caesar guns to Ukraine
They are “on the way”. The six additional Caesar guns, flagships of French artillery promised by Emmanuel Macron in mid-June, will soon arrive in Ukraine, said the head of French diplomacy, Catherine Colonna. On the other hand, questioned before the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and the Armed Forces of the Senate, she did not specify the expected date of arrival on Ukrainian soil of this reinforcement which had been announced by the head of the French State on June 16 during his visit to kyiv. Twelve Caesar guns have “already delivered” and “the other six are on their way”she announced to the committee.
Vladimir Putin arrived in Iran
The Russian president set foot in Tehran on Tuesday. He must discuss with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts the conflict in Syria, but also the war in Ukraine. Iranian state television showed images of the head of state’s arrival live.
Vladimir Putin also mentioned progress in the negotiations for the export of grain from Ukraine via the Black Sea and thanked his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his “mediation” in this file. The objective is to bring out some 20 million tonnes of grain blocked in Ukrainian silos, which kyiv and the West accuse Moscow of blocking the export of, at the risk of causing a world food crisis.