Live blog: Zelenskyy sacks another official, seeks more US support

 

Russian President Putin says Moscow has not seen any desire from Kiev to fulfill a "preliminary peace deal" agreed in March to end fighting in Ukraine, where Russian bombardment continues on day 147 of the conflict.

A local resident helps firefighters to put out a fire in a yard of a house in Ukraine's town of Bakhmut following an air strike. (AFP)

Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Zelenskyy fires another top official, calls for even stronger ties with US 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed a deputy head of the domestic security service (SBU) and appointed a number of new regional heads of the SBU.

Ivan Bakanov was fired from his position at the helm of the SBU by a comfortable majority, several lawmakers said on the Telegram messaging app.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska arrived in Washington and Zelenskyy said his wife's scheduled address to congress on Wednesday should yield "significant results", saying he hopes it will influence US decision-makers in Washington.

Zelenska's tasks include increasing US support for Ukraine, obtaining additional support to "protect people from Russian terror" and boosting humanitarian assistance, he said in his video address.

Putin warns EU that gas supplies could keep dwindling

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said it is the West’s own fault that the flow of Russian natural gas to European customers has dwindled and warned that it could continue ebbing.

Putin's statement further cranked up the pressure on the European Union, which fears Russia could cut off gas to wreak economic and political havoc in Europe in the winter.

Speaking to Russian reporters in Tehran, Putin said the amount of gas pumped through the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany will fall further from 60 million to 30 million cubic metres a day, or about one-fifth of its capacity, if a turbine isn't quickly replaced. 

Source: TRTWorld and agencies 

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(With input from news agency language)

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