The Ukrainian government has approved President Petro Poroshenko’s proposal to appoint colonel-general Valery Heletey as the new defence minister.<br /><br />Lieutenant-general Viktor Muzhenko is to become head of the general staff. He has been an integral player in the military drive against rebels in the east of the country.<br /><br />The shake up follows Poroshenko’s decision to resume a full offensive against the separatists.<br /><br />Speaking in parliament in Kyiv, the president said: “The Ukrainian army needs a new commander – a military man who knows how to fight and has experience on the ground. A general who knows what a war by proxy is and understands how to win it.”<br /><br />Security officials advised Poroshenko not to prolong a shaky ceasefire in the east, saying it had given insurgents time to regroup and rearm.<br /><br />The US has expressed support for the decision. Russia, meanwhile, has harshly condemned the move to relaunch operations.<br /><br />Moscow refutes Kyiv’s accusations that it is stoking the conflict by reinforcing the separatists.<br /><br />Following talks with France and Germany, both the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers have backed the idea of a further meeting with rebel leaders, to push for a lasting truce.
