Ukraine President sacks top prosecutor, security chief

Kyiv [Ukraine], July 18 (ANI): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday fired the chief of country's domestic intelligence and security agency and its prosecutor general.
Zelenskyy in a video address published on Telegram said that he had dismissed the security chief, Ivan Bakanov, a childhood friend who led his presidential campaign, and Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova, a close ally who was his foreign affairs adviser during his presidential run, after losing faith in their abilities to run their offices.
Zelenskyy also said he had fired the top officials because many cases had come to light of members of their agencies collaborating with Russia, according to Al Jazeera.
"As of today, 651 criminal proceedings have been registered regarding treason and collaboration activities of employees of prosecutor's offices, pretrial investigation bodies, and other law enforcement agencies," he said.
"In particular, more than 60 employees of the prosecutor's office and the Security Service of Ukraine remained in the occupied territory and are working against our state," he added, according to CNN.
Earlier, Zelenskyy had dismissed Kyiv's ambassador to India as well as several other foreign envoys on Saturday.
He announced the sacking of Ukraine's ambassadors to Germany, the Czech Republic, Norway, India, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, The Kyiv Independent reported.
Russia started its military operation in Ukraine in the last week of February this year which resulted in a large-scale humanitarian situation. Under operation Ganga, India had facilitated the safe return of 22,500 Indian nationals, most of them students, studying in various universities in Ukraine.
India has reiterated its stand for diplomacy amid the Ukraine conflict and said humanitarian measures should not be politicized at a time when the impact of the situation is affecting the food security situation.
The war in Ukraine has led to a large-scale humanitarian and refugee crisis. Moreover, the security situation in Ukraine deteriorated rapidly following the launch of a Russian Federation military offensive on February 24.
According to UN agencies, the escalation of conflict in the eastern part of the country has triggered an immediate and steep rise in humanitarian needs as essential supplies and services are disrupted and civilians flee the fighting. The UN estimates that 12 million people inside Ukraine will need relief and protection, while several other Ukrainian refugees may need protection and assistance in neighbouring countries in the coming months.
On 1 March, the UN and humanitarian partners launched coordinated Flash Appeals for a combined USD 1.7 billion to urgently deliver humanitarian support to people in Ukraine and refugees in neighbouring countries.
Within Ukraine, the plan requires USD 1.1 billion to meet the escalating humanitarian needs of more than six million people affected and displaced by military operations over the next three months, according to UN News.
Outside the country, the UN requested USD 551 million to help Ukrainians who have fled across borders, principally to Poland, Hungary, Romania and Moldova. (ANI)