Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Sunday that he had sacked his top two law enforcement officials, in the government's most serious shakeup since Russia launched its deadly invasion of the country in February.
Zelenskyy said he was firing prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova and security chief Ivan Bakanov amid a high number of cases of suspected treason by Ukrainian law enforcement officials, according to AFP.
In a national address, the Ukrainian President said that over 650 cases of suspected treason and aiding and abetting Russia by Ukrainian security officials are currently being investigated, including 60 cases of officials who he said have remained in territories occupied by Russia and are "working against our state."
"Such a great number of crimes against the foundations of national security and the connections established between Ukrainian law enforcement officials and Russian special services pose very serious questions to the relevant leaders," Zelenskyy said.
Sunday’s move came days after Zelenskyy fired several of the country’s key senior envoys, including the ambassador to Germany known for battling it out with critics on social media.
In a statement, Zelenskyy announced that he had relieved the ambassadors to Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Norway and India of their positions, and that he would be appointing new envoys.
"This rotation is a normal part of diplomatic practice," he said.
Previously, Zelenskyy fired the security chief of the city of Kharkiv, saying he was dismissed "for not working to defend the city from the first days of the full-scale war, but thinking only of himself," and that while others had toiled "very effectively", the former chief had not.
Although the president did not name the official, Ukrainian media reports identified him as Roman Dudin, the head of the Kharkiv region's SBU security service.