Amid Russia shelling, Zelenskyy seeks to strengthen ranks

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — With Russian shelling across the country showing no signs of easing, Ukraine's leaders on Monday were looking to strengthen their own ranks after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy removed from office some of his most prominent officials because of alleged "poor performance" over clearing their agencies of “collaborators and traitors.”

Internal investigations and checks will be launched following the replacement of the head of Ukraine’s Security Service, or SBU, Ivan Bakanov, and Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova, said Andriy Smirnov, deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office. Acting heads of the two agencies have been appointed in the meantime. officials said.

“Six months into the war, we continue to uncover loads of these people in each of these agencies," said Andriy Smirnov, the deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office.

Analysts said the move is designed to strengthen Zelenskyy's control over the army and the security agencies that have been led by people appointed before the war. Zelenskyy “needs an effective Prosecutor (General’s) office, and (an effective) SBU" agency, Volodymyr Fesenko, political analyst with the Penta Center think tank, told The Associated Press.

“In the conditions of a war, Zelenskyy needs leaders that are capable of tackling several tasks at the same time -- to resist Russia’s intrigues within the country to create a fifth column, to be in contact and coordination with international experts, to do their actual job effectively,” Fesenko said.

Bakanov and Venediktova both have held key positions amid Ukraine's efforts to defend itself from the Russian invasion and hold the Russian attackers accountable for the crimes against civilians during the war, which started on Feb. 24.

Bakanov is Zelenskyy's childhood friend...