LATEST HEADLINES

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed the heads of military conscription in every region after a series of corruption allegations. "This system should be run by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery at a time of war is high treason," Zelenskyy said.

• The incessant drone attacks continue on both sides as Russian forces destroyed 20 Ukrainian drones launched onto the Crimean Peninsula. 

• Ukraine officials say an elderly woman and a police officer were killed by Russian shelling on a settlement in eastern Ukraine and Zaporizhzhia in the south.

• Ukrainian officials urged residents of Kupiansk to evacuate as Russia says it has improved its fighting positions in the area.

• The U.S. has imposed new sanctions on four Russians linked to financial and investment conglomerate Alfa Group and a Russian business association, the latest measures targeting Moscow's financial elite over the war in Ukraine.

IN DETAIL

Zelenskyy dismisses all recruitment center chiefs

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy broadened his battle against graft, firing all the heads of Ukraine's regional army recruitment centers as the war with Russia enters a critical stage.

Zelenskyy said a state investigation into centers across Ukraine had exposed abuses by officials ranging from illegal enrichment to transporting draft-eligible men across the border despite a wartime ban on them leaving the country.

He said 112 criminal cases had been opened in a wide-ranging probe launched after a graft scandal at a recruitment office in the Odesa region last month. 

"This system should be run by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery during war is treason," he said, adding that those fired would be replaced by recent veterans and soldiers wounded at the front.

Zelenskyy said that any sacked army recruitment officers who are not being investigated should head to the front to fight for Ukraine "if they want to keep their epaulettes and prove their dignity."

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Cover image: AFP/Kacper Pempel