Elena Martinez
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy initiated a significant shakeup within his administration on Saturday, parting ways with a longstanding aide and multiple advisors amidst ongoing Russian attacks.
In the latest move, Zelenskyy relieved Serhiy Shefir of his duties as the first assistant, a position he held since 2019.
Additionally, three advisors and two presidential representatives overseeing volunteer activities and soldiers’ rights were also let go. The reasons behind these dismissals were not immediately disclosed, marking another development in a series of personnel changes that have unfolded over the past few months.
The recent shakeup follows the dismissal earlier in the week of Oleksii Danilov, the former secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, and Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who served as the head of the armed forces before being appointed as Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom earlier this month.
Amidst these internal adjustments, Ukraine faced renewed attacks from Russia overnight. Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia deployed 12 Shahed drones, nine of which were intercepted, and launched four missiles into eastern Ukraine.
Over the past 24 hours, Ukraine’s armed forces documented a significant escalation in Russian aggression, including 38 missile strikes, 75 airstrikes, and 98 attacks from multiple rocket launchers, as communicated through social media updates.
The impact of these attacks was felt on the ground, with Ukrainian energy infrastructure suffering substantial damage. Centrenergo, a Ukrainian energy company, disclosed that the Zmiiv Thermal Power Plant, a crucial facility in the eastern Kharkiv region, was completely destroyed due to Russian shelling.
As a result, power outages persisted for approximately 120,000 residents in the region, exacerbating the hardship for the 700,000 individuals who had already lost electricity after the initial strike on March 22.
Russian assaults on Ukrainian energy infrastructure have intensified in recent days, resulting in severe consequences across multiple regions. In the Poltava region, officials reported damage to an unspecified infrastructure facility, raising concerns about further disruptions.
Meanwhile, the aftermath of Friday’s onslaught, which saw 99 drones and missiles targeting various regions across Ukraine, became evident on Saturday. Local authorities in the Kherson region confirmed the death of one civilian, while another individual from the Dnipropetrovsk region succumbed to injuries sustained from shelling, as announced by regional Governor Serhiy Lisak.
