President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday fired Ukraine's National Security Council secretary and replaced him with the head of its foreign spy agency, in a new reshuffle following to the overhaul of the military high command last month.
No reason was given for these changes, announced in a series of curtly worded decrees posted on the president's website, more than two years after Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine.
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Oleksiy Danilov, outgoing secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, had held his position since October 2019, just months after Zelensky took office.
The latter named Oleksandr Lytvynenko, 51, head of the foreign intelligence service, who has almost no public profile, as head of the council.
The council has a coordinating role on national security and defense issues under the authority of the president and includes the country's top political, security and defense officials.
Strength of Ukrainian fortifications
Ukraine is struggling to maintain its war effort and resist attacks by Russian forces in the east of the country, while its main American ally proves unable to provide military assistance due to opposition from the Republicans in Congress.
Military analysts also question the depth and strength of Ukraine's fortifications and see troop numbers as another challenge.
Russia has a much larger population than Ukraine and is on the offensive.
Volodymyr Zelensky's decrees named Oleh Ivashchenko, deputy head of Ukraine's military spy agency, who also has no public profile, as head of foreign intelligence.
The Ukrainian leader replaced the head of the armed forces in February.
Entire sections of the military hierarchy have also been eliminated and replaced.