Ukraine Says Putin Has Fired 8 Generals Over Losses In War: Report

Russian President Vladimir Putin has sacked his top generals and is furious at his intelligence officials over Moscow's losses in the Ukraine war, Kyiv has claimed. The Federal Security Service (FSB) is in his firing line for poor strategy for a series of embarrassing defeats for Russia, Ukraine's Defence Secretary Oleksiy Danilov claimed.

He was quoted as saying by Ukrainian newspaper Ukrayinska Pravda that eight Russian military generals have been fired so far and Russia has changed its tactics. "New ones have been appointed. We clearly understand what is happening in the Russian Federation. I can tell they're desperate," Danilov was quoted as saying in the interview.

The Russian never thought that "this nation is so united", added the Danilov.

The Ukrainian defence secretary, however, said that the road ahead "won't be easy". "Will it be difficult? Yes, it will be difficult, don't underestimate the enemy. We beat him in all directions, but he, like locusts, creeps and crawls,” said Danilov.

Meanwhile, Philip Ingram, a security expert and former senior British intelligence office, told The Times that Putin is "very angry" and is blaming his intelligence agencies.

The report further said that the Russian President is infuriated with commanders of FSB - successor agency to the KGB - for saying that Ukraine was weak and would give up easily if attacked.

The war has been going on in Ukraine for two weeks and Russian troops are heading towards capital Kyiv. They carried out three airstrikes in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, in which one person has been killed. Ukraine's emergency services said that the strikes were close to a kindergarten and an apartment building.

Russian forces had destroyed 3,213 Ukrainian military installations since the launch of what Russia calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine, news agency Reuters reported.

Satellite images showed a Russian military column threatening Kyiv from the north had dispersed to new positions, US company Maxar Technologies said, possibly in preparation for an assault on the capital.