Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy replaced a top military commander in eastern Ukraine after major territorial losses to Russia.
Zelenskiy issued decrees on July 25 dismissing Major General Hryhoriy Halahan and appointing Viktor Horenko to replace him as commander of the special operations forces of the Ukrainian Army.
Halahan, 44, had led the unit in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions since August 2020. He is being transferred to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), where he will serve as deputy head of the counterterrorism center.
Russian forces have taken complete control of the Luhansk region and a large portion of the Donetsk region since Russia launched the invasion in February.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on July 25 in its battlefield assessment that Russian units had achieved successes at the Vuhlehirsk coal-fired power station located some 50 kilometers northeast of Donetsk. The power plant has been under assault for days.
On a nearby front, however, Russian attacks in the direction of the towns of Bakhmut and Siversk were repulsed, the General Staff said.
Russian troops also reportedly made further assaults on the Slovyansk-Kramatorsk area in Donetsk, but most attacks were repelled.
In the south, the Ukrainian general staff reported heavy artillery battles and Russian air strikes in Kherson.
The General Staff also reported that the Ukrainian military shot down another Russian Su-25 attack aircraft.
The information could not be independently verified.
