Day 145 of the Invasion of Ukraine: Zelensky fired the Chief Prosecutor and the Head of Intelligence

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky @facebook.com/zelenskiy.official

Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

The investigation into the plane crash in Greece continues, no radioactivity is reported in the area

An investigation into the crash of a Ukrainian cargo plane near Kavala, northern Greece, over the weekend continues. No radioactivity is reported in the area.

Authorities allowed people living in the area of the incident to go outdoors.

An An-12 cargo plane carrying mines to Bangladesh crashed near Kavala on Saturday.

It was transporting mines to Bangladesh, Serbian Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic announced yesterday. He added that when the plane fell, the eight crew members died, and there were no Serbian citizens among them. All on board the plane were Ukrainians.

Military teams are processing the terrain and detonating the remaining munitions. Soil samples are taken again.

The samples prove so far that no harmful substances were burned during the explosion and no evacuation of the population in the vicinity is required.

The bodies of the dead Ukrainian pilots were found.

Work is also underway to clarify the causes of the accident. Debris from the machine was found, on which the trajectory of the fall and crash are being investigated.

It will take days for a full examination of what happened, military experts said.

Zelensky fired the chief prosecutor and the head of Ukrainian intelligence

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed decrees for the dismissal of the head of the Security Service of Ukraine Ivan Bakanov and the chief prosecutor Irina Venediktova.

Zelensky's decree firing Bakanov said it was based on Article 47 of the Disciplinary Code of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

This article implies removal from office due to "failure (improper performance) of official duties, which led to human casualties or other serious consequences, or created a threat of such consequences".

Alexey Simonenko will replace Venediktova in the post of chief prosecutor.

On the day Zelensky signed the decree on Bakanov's dismissal, it became known that the State Bureau of Investigation detained the former head of one of the regional departments of the Security Service of Ukraine. He is suspected of treason and working for Russia.

According to BBC News Ukraine, the detainee is Oleg Kulinych, who until March this year headed the Kherson-based Directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine for the Autonomous Republic of Crimea after the annexation of the peninsula by Russia.

In his evening address, Volodymyr Zelensky explained the reasons for his decision to fire Ivan Bakanov and Irina Venediktova with the fact that law enforcement authorities are investigating numerous cases of treason and collaboration among law enforcement officials.

"To date, 651 criminal proceedings have been registered for treason and collaboration of prosecutors, pre-trial investigation bodies and other law enforcement agencies," Zelensky said.

“More than 60 employees of the Prosecutor's Office and the Security Service of Ukraine remained in the occupied territories and are working against our state. Such a set of crimes against the foundations of national security and the tracked communications between employees of the Ukrainian security services and the special services of Russia raise very serious questions for the relevant leaders. Each of these questions will receive an appropriate answer”, the Ukrainian president also said.

China will not be an "indifferent spectator" of the crisis in Ukraine

“China is not a party to the crisis in Ukraine, but it will not remain inactive”, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during a telephone conversation with his Hungarian counterpart Szijjarto.

"China is not a party to the Ukraine crisis, but we will not be indifferent spectators and we certainly will not add fuel to the fire, we have always been firm and consistent in promoting peace and negotiations," Wang Yi said on the official website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The Chinese foreign minister stressed that all countries should learn lessons from the conflict in Ukraine. He also called on the parties to discuss the creation of a balanced, effective and sustainable European security architecture with the aim of achieving lasting peace.

Lavrov: Ukraine's EU membership bid is a gambit against Russia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called granting Ukraine and Moldova candidate status for EU membership a "geopolitical move against Russia".

"Part of the geopolitical gambit against Russia is to grant Ukraine and Moldova (which apparently also face an unenviable fate) the status of eternal candidates for the EU," he told Izvestia.

"For now, they advertise the ‘European political community’ initiated by French President Emmanuel Macron, in which there will be no special financial and economic benefits, but demands for full solidarity with the EU in its anti-Russian actions," Lavrov added.

What this new community is, Macron himself explained: "The EU will invite all European countries - from Iceland to Ukraine - to join it", but not Russia.

"I will immediately clarify that it is not necessary to delve into details, but the statement itself, which reveals the essence of this new deliberate confrontational, divisive undertaking, is revealing," Lavrov emphasized.

The concept of a new European political community belongs to French President Emmanuel Macron. According to him, Europe needs a structure to help develop cooperation in areas such as geopolitics, energy, infrastructure and transport with countries with which close integration within the EU is not possible.

Sergei Shoigu ordered the destruction of Kyiv's long-range weapons

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has instructed the military to prioritize the destruction of Ukraine's long-range missile and artillery weapons, the defense ministry said.

According to him, the priority is the destruction of Ukrainian long-range weapons used for shelling civilian settlements and grain storage warehouses in Donbas.

"Army General Sergei Shoigu instructed the commanders to give priority to the destruction of the enemy's long-range missiles and artillery, from which shelling of residential areas of populated areas in Donbas and deliberate arson of grain fields and grain warehouses is carried out", the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

Earlier today, the representation of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic reported that Ukrainian forces fired 20 shells at the DPR settlement of Panteleimonovka and 8 shells at the village of Verkhnetoretskoe.

The authorities in Kyiv announced that they had carried out a series of successful strikes on 30 Russian logistics centers and ammunition depots. Western-supplied multiple launch missile systems were used.

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