Fighting appears to be intensifying on the front line in eastern Ukraine, where Russia has made a series of small advances in recent days.
Ukraine claims strikes on Russian energy sites
kyiv claims this Monday to have struck an oil terminal and an electricity substation respectively in the Belgorod and Lipetsk regions, in western Russia, not far from the Ukrainian border. “Explosions took place at the Oskolneftesnab oil terminal near the town of Stari Oskol, as well as at the Yeletskaya substation with a capacity of 500 kW,” a source in the sector told AFP. of Ukrainian defense, specifying that it was a special services (SBU) operation carried out with attack drones.
Surprise reshuffle in the Russian general staff
This Russian advance comes at a time when in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin carried out a surprise reshuffle on Sunday evening and dismissed his emblematic Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, after two years of conflict in Ukraine without a clear outcome.
Sergei Shoigu is replaced by Andreï Belooussov, an economist by training, and becomes secretary of the Security Council, a position held until then by Nikolaï Patrushev, who is dismissed from his functions, according to a decree published by the Kremlin.
Russia advances in the Kharkiv region
The Ukrainian army recognized this Monday “tactical successes” of Russia in the region of Kharkiv (north-east), where Moscow claimed on Sunday the capture of four additional localities near the border in its offensive launched on Friday, which resulted in the evacuation of thousands of civilians.