Russia Replaces Logistics Commander Ahead Of Expected Ukrainian Counteroffensive

(RFE/RL) — Russia has replaced its highest-ranking general in charge of logistics ahead of a widely expected upcoming counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on April 30 that Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev had been replaced by Aleksei Kuzmenkov, a former official of the National Guard.

“Kuzmenkov was appointed to the position of deputy defense minister of the Russian Federation, responsible for the logistical support of the Armed Forces,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The statement did not say why Mizintsev was replaced. He was appointed to the logistics post in September days after President Vladimir Putin announced a mobilization.

The European Union accused Mizintsev of orchestrating a siege of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol early in the war that killed thousands of civilians, and he is under British sanctions for his role in the siege.

The announcement came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had a telephone conversation on April 30 with French President Emmanuel Macron in which he informed Gallic counterpart about the situation on the front line and the outlook for developments in May and June.

“We discussed cooperation in working with other international partners to consolidate their support for the Ukrainian peace formula,” Zelenskiy said on Telegram. “We coordinated our positions on the eve of important international events and agreed on the next concrete steps within the bilateral dialogue.”

Zelenskiy said he thanked Macron for “comprehensive and effective support of Ukraine,” and again emphasized the priority needs of Ukrainian forces, saying the “speed and specificity of the response is very important.”

Later on April 30, Pope Francis told reporters that the Vatican is involved in a peace mission to try to end the conflict. 

“I am willing to do everything that has to be done,” the pope said during his flight back to Rome after a visit to Budapest. “There is a mission in course now, but it is not yet public. When it is public, I will reveal it.”

The pope said he spoke about the situation in Ukraine with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and with Metropolitan Hilarion, the Russian Orthodox Church’s representative in Budapest.

“In these meetings we did not just talk about Little Red Riding Hood. We spoke of all these things. Everyone is interested in the road to peace,” he said.

Francis also told reporters on his flight that the Vatican was willing to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war. Representatives of the Vatican have already helped mediate some prisoner exchanges and would do “all that is humanly possible” to reunite families, he said.

The comments came a day after a Ukrainian military official called an explosion and fire at a fuel storage depot in Sevastopol “God’s punishment,” a response to a wave of missile strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine that killed at least 25 civilians a day earlier.

Andriy Yusov stopped short of claiming responsibility for the explosion and massive fire on April 29

Ukraine’s military intelligence claimed that more than 10 storage terminals were destroyed in the April 29 incident, while Russia said only four were engulfed. 

The fuel depot was reportedly used for civilian purposes, though Yusov claimed it also supplied naval forces.

Another Ukrainian official, Natalya Humenyuk, appeared to suggest Ukrainian involvement, and she tied it to the expected counteroffensive.

“This work is preparatory to the large-scale full-scale offensive that everyone expects,” Humenyuk, a spokeswoman for Ukraine’s southern military command, said in comments published by the UNIAN news agency.

Humenyuk claimed that the blast had heightened anxiety among Russian military personnel, and an evacuation of relatives was under way. Sevastopol is home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, and other military units.

There was no independent confirmation of Humenyuk’s comments.

The Russian-appointed head of the region, meanwhile, pointed the finger directly at Ukraine.

“According to preliminary information, the fire was caused by a [drone] strike,” Mikhail Razvozhayev wrote on Telegram.

Explosions have been heard almost daily in Crimea and Sevastopol since August. Russian occupation authorities claim the blasts are being caused by air defense firing at Ukrainian drones.