Russia is sending troops to eastern Ukraine ahead of a new offensive that could begin next week on a front where fighting has been going on for months, Ukraine’s governor said.

The latest on the war in Ukraine, day 349, LIVETEXT:

08:22 As of November of last year, Ukraine removed about 19 million Soviet-era or Russian-language books from its libraries, a high-ranking deputy said on Monday.

Yevgenia Kravchuk, deputy head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy, reported that 11 million of the 19 million books are in Russian.

“Also, some Ukrainian-language books from the Soviet era were blacklisted. There are also recommendations to remove and remove books whose authors promoted armed aggression against Ukraine,” Kravchuk said, according to a statement published on the parliament’s website. (Reuters)

08:01 The construction of protective structures for the key objects of the Zaporizhzhya NPP in the south-east of Ukraine is almost complete, the TASS news agency reported on Tuesday with reference to the adviser to the head of the operator of the Russian NPP.

Zaporozhye plant, the largest in Europe, was occupied by Russian troops in March of last year, in the first days of the invasion. It remains close to the front lines and has been repeatedly attacked, raising fears of a nuclear catastrophe.

“The construction of structures and engineering structures intended for additional protection of important NPP infrastructure facilities, including those related to the storage of radioactive materials, is at the final stage,” Renat Karchaa from Rosenergoatom told TASS.

07:13Argentina, the “new Miami” of Russians – “Every day 30 pregnant (and rich) women come here to give birth”

A brief summary of recent events:

• Ukraine has sent mixed messages about the fate of Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, leaving a key position in doubt. Reznikov’s uncertain status is the first public sign of the destabilization of Ukraine’s wartime leadership, Reuters notes. Zelensky seemed to hint at Reznikov’s replacement: “We will combine the military experience of our people with specific management activities in local and central government positions.”
• This year, Zelensky fired a number of high-ranking officials as part of a purge aimed at ending corruption. Reznikov was under pressure because of the corruption scandal in the ministry.
• Kyrylo Budanov, who has been nominated to be Ukraine’s next defense minister, is a young officer who rose rapidly to the position of head of military intelligence, awarded for his participation in operations that remain mostly secret.
• Serhiy Gaidai, the Ukrainian governor of Luhansk Oblast, which is largely controlled by Russia, said Moscow had sent reinforcements for the offensive, which could begin as early as next week.
• Fighting in Ukraine’s Donetsk region is “very difficult,” Zelenskyy said, as Ukraine prepares for a possible Russian offensive this month ahead of the first anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine.
• According to state media, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that its troops had taken control of the village of Mykolaivka in eastern Ukraine, in the Donetsk region.
• The State Investigative Committee of Russia announced that it is investigating the alleged use of chemical weapons by Ukrainian troops near the cities of Soledar and Bakhmut in the east of the country. The Ukrainian military stated that they have never used chemical weapons anywhere.
• Zelensky has been invited to a European summit, the EU announced, amid reports that he may arrive in Brussels this week.
• US Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to discuss US support for Ukraine during her trip to a major European security conference in Germany next week.
• The head of the UN’s nuclear agency, the IAEA, will visit Moscow this week, but the Kremlin has said he will not meet with President Vladimir Putin.
• The main Catholic Church of Ukraine has announced the transition to a new calendar, according to which Christmas will be celebrated on December 25, instead of January 7, amid attempts by Ukrainian institutions to sever cultural ties with Russia. Minister of Culture Oleksandr Tkachenko welcomed the decision of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, whose believers include less than a tenth of Ukrainians.
• The Armed Forces of Ukraine struck 11 temporary base points and two air defense positions of Russian troops over the past day, the General Staff reported on Monday.
• The deficit of the Russian budget increased in January due to the drop in revenues from energy sources.
• As the “risks of escalation” in Ukraine grow, the world is moving “with eyes wide open” to a “broader war,” the UN Secretary General said on Monday.
• The landscape around the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut provides it with natural protection, making it an “impregnable fortress,” the commander of the Ground Forces of Ukraine said on Monday.
• A new video released by the Ukrainian military shows them destroying a Russian howitzer that Vladimir Putin’s troops were trying to hide under a pile of trash.
• Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of mercenaries of the “Wagner” PMC, released a video from the cockpit of the Su-24 bomber, which, according to the press service of his company Concordia, was participating in a combat mission.

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• Monday’s events related to Russian aggression were broadcast LIVE on HotNews.ro