Ex-deputy def. min. named chief of Ukraine Army

MUSK STARLINK USED IN OCCUPIED AREAS: UKRAINE

Kyiv, Feb. 11: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed Oleksandr Pavliuk, former first deputy defence minister, as the new commander of Ukraine’s Army, according to a decree published on Sunday.

Pavliuk, a lieutenantgeneral who served in the ministry role for a year, replaces Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi after he was tapped this week as commander of Ukraine’s armed forces.

On Saturday, Zelenskyy announced five other senior military appointments, filling out a rebooted team to bolster Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s nearly two-year-old invasion. Ukraine is experiencing a shortage of men and equipment as it heads into 2024 having made few battlefield gains throughout the past year. It also faces a disruption in military aid from the United States, its biggest backer.

A 71-year-old Ukrainian man died in Russia in December awaiting trial for espionage and other crimes, human rights organisation Memorial said.

Several Ukrainian citizens have been accused of espionage by Russia following the start of what the Kremlin calls a special military operation almost two years ago. Memorial said there was little information about Viktor Demchenko, thought to have died at a pre-trial detention facility in the Rostov region.

Kyiv, Feb. 11: Russian forces in occupied Ukraine are using Starlink terminals produced by Elon Musk’s SpaceX for satellite internet in what is beginning to look like their “systemic” application, Kyiv’s main military intelligence agency said.

The terminals were rushed in to help Ukraine after Russia’s Feb. 2022 invasion and have been vital to Kyiv’s battlefield communications.