Ukraine fires general amid Russian gains in eastern region
Ukraine fired its general overseeing fighting in the country’s eastern region in the face of Russia’s fastest advances since the war began.
Oleksandr Lutsenko was removed from his position as commander of the Donetsk operational and tactical group and sent to another post in the army’s ground forces, the Financial Times reported.
Critics say he failed to stop Russian troops’ push toward the city of Pokrovsk, a critical logistics hub and the heart of the Donetsk operation.
In just a month, the occupying troops seized territory about half the size of London and are close to encircling four villages near Pokrovsk, attacking “from all sides,” according to Deep State, a war-tracking group.
Replacing Lutsenko is General Oleksandr Tarnavskiy, whose impressive track record includes leading the troops that liberated the city of Kherson in the early days of the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky replaced several other generals last month as part of “internal changes” he said were needed amid Moscow’s advance and the introduction of North Korean troops to the battlefield.
“The Russians are throwing all available forces forward, trying to break through the defense of our troops,” Ukraine’s top general, Oleksandr Syrsky, said Friday.
Putin’s army was “superior,” he said, “primarily in manpower.”
The US has suggested Ukraine lower its recruitment age to 18 from 25 to help manpower issues, which experts say are its biggest weakness. The average Ukraine soldier is between 43 and 45, according to reports.
But Zelensky has pushed back against the suggestion and blamed delays in the supply of weaponry from Western allies.
On Wednesday, he is set to meet with European leaders in Brussels to discuss support in the war, according to reports.
Zelensky and some allies have called for European troops to be deployed to Ukraine to act as a deterrent, and waiting to learn if the US will change its approach to the conflict when President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.
Trump has vowed “not to abandon” Ukraine.
Meanwhile, air defenses intercepted 58 out of 132 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia overnight, primarily in southern and central Ukraine, the Air Force reported on Saturday.
It followed a Russian bombardment on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure Friday when at least 93 missiles were fired, including some supplied by North Korea, the Kyiv Independent reported.
With Post wires
