Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Kyiv flags shake-up after graft allegations

Ukrainian forces repelled 11 attacks, 10 of them in the Donetsk region, including in the areas of the town of Bakhmut and the village of Klishchiivka. * "Spring and early summer will be decisive in the war," Vadym Skibitsky, deputy head of Ukraine's military intelligence, said in an interview with news site Delfi.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said personnel changes were being carried out at senior and lower levels following the most high-profile graft allegations since Russia's invasion that threaten to dampen Western enthusiasm for his government. UKRAINE ANTI-CORRUPTION MEASURES

* Zelenskiy, who did not identify the officials to be replaced, said part of the crackdown would involve toughening oversight on travelling abroad for official assignments. * A top ally of Zelenskiy said corrupt officials would be "actively" jailed, setting out a zero-tolerance approach.

WEAPONS AND DIPLOMACY * Germany is not blocking the re-export of Leopard tanks to Ukraine, the European Union's top diplomat said.

* Poland said it would ask Germany for permission to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine - and would send them whether or not Berlin agreed as long as other countries did too. * European foreign ministers, meeting to discuss aid to Ukraine, pressed Berlin to let countries send German-made Leopard tanks, after Germany appeared to open the door to such shipments by allies.

* South Africa's foreign minister deflected criticism of joint military drills planned with Russia and China, saying such exercises with "friends" was the "natural course of relations". * Russia and Estonia downgraded their diplomatic relations and expelled each other's ambassadors after Moscow accused Tallinn of anti-Russian policies. Latvia also expelled Russia's ambassador in solidarity with Estonia.

* Ukraine has imposed sanctions

on 22 Russians associated with the Russian Orthodox Church for what Zelenskiy said was their support of genocide under the cloak of religion. FIGHTING

* One person was killed and two injured in Russian shelling of a residential district of the town of Chasiv Yar on Monday that damaged at least nine high-rise buildings, Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of Donetsk region, said on Telegram. * Russia fired 9 missiles into populated areas of Kharkiv, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, as well 27 air strikes, Ukraine's military said. Ukrainian forces repelled 11 attacks, 10 of them in the Donetsk region, including in the areas of the town of Bakhmut and the village of Klishchiivka.

* "Spring and early summer will be decisive in the war," Vadym Skibitsky, deputy head of Ukraine's military intelligence, said in an interview with news site Delfi. * On Monday, the new general in charge of Russia's military operations in Ukraine used his first public comments to warn that modern Russia had never seen such "intensity of military hostilities", forcing it to carry out offensive operations to stabilise the situation.

Reuters could not verify battlefield reports. 

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)