Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has submitted a proposal to the Ukrainian parliament to extend martial law and general mobilisation for another 90 days.
The president first declared martial law and general mobilisation on February 24th, 2022, when Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the measure has been repeatedly extended since then.
Ukraine’s parliament previously extended martial law and mobilisation from November 2023 until February 14th, 2024.
Mr Zelenskiy’s proposal would extend the two measures until May 14th.
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Legislator Yaroslav Zhelezniak said this would be the 10th vote of the parliament on martial law since the beginning of the war.
Under martial law, Ukrainian men aged between 18 and 60, with some exceptions, are not allowed to leave the country as they may be called up for military service.
Mr Zelenskiy has also said he is considering replacing several senior officials, including state leaders.
In an interview with Italian TV, Mr Zelenskiy said “a reset is necessary”, adding that “I have in mind something serious that does not concern a single person, but the direction of the country’s leadership.”
The comments come amid continued speculation that the president is about to dismiss the commander of Ukraine’s military, Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
Elsewhere, Russia said 28 people, including one child, have died in Saturday’s shelling of a bakery in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lysychansk, which is under Russian occupation. A further 10 people were rescued from under the rubble by emergency services, according to officials.
More than two dozen people, mostly journalists, were detained on Saturday at a protest in central Moscow where wives and other relatives of Russian servicemen mobilised to fight in Ukraine called for their return, according to Reuters.
In the United States, senators on Sunday evening released the details of a highly anticipated $118 billion (€109 billion) package that pairs federal enforcement policy on the US-Mexico border with wartime aid for Ukraine, Israel and others.
The proposal is the best chance for US president Joe Biden to bolster dwindling US wartime aid for Ukraine.
The Senate was expected this week to hold a key test vote on the legislation, but it faces a wall of opposition from conservatives.
Crucially, with Congress stalled on approving $60bn in Ukraine aid, the US has halted shipments of ammunition and missiles to Kyiv, leaving Ukrainian soldiers outgunned as they try to come out on top of a grinding stalemate with Russian troops. – Guardian