Oleksii Reznikov

Day 558 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that defense minister Oleksii Reznikov will be replaced this week with Rustem Umerov, a Crimean Tatar lawmaker.

Zelensky made the announcement on his official Telegram account, writing that new leadership was needed after Reznikov went through "more than 550 days of full-scale war."

On August 21, Bulgaria's Defense Minister Todor Tagarev visited Odesa and met with Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov. After the official talks, the two ministers gave a joint press conference. Minister Tagarev expressed gratitude for the warm welcome in Ukraine and emphasized the importance of personal contact for strengthening bilateral cooperation.

Kiev on Aug. 18 welcomed a US decision to let Denmark and the Netherlands hand F-16 fighter jets over to Ukraine once its pilots are trained to use them.

In Russia, the authorities shut down respected rights group the Sakharov Center and announced fresh international sanctions against its critics abroad.

Day 516 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

American-made Patriot missiles have arrived in Ukraine, the country's defense minister said Wednesday, providing Kiev with a long-sought new shield against the Russian airstrikes that have devastated cities and civilian infrastructure.

Greece will continue to supply Ukraine with ammunition of all kinds but has refused the invaded country's request to send any of its Soviet- and Russian-made air defense missile-systems (S-300, TOR-M1 and OSA-AK).

Greece has pledged military assistance to Ukraine for "as long as it takes" but officials cautioned that the country needs to keep much of its Russian-made weaponry for its own defensive needs.

"Ukraine has de facto become a member of NATO, and this reality may soon be shaped legally." Such confidence was expressed by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksii Reznikov, in an interview with the Russian edition of the BBC.

Ukraine said Monday that its forces regained yet more ground in the past 24 hours and retook an area seven times the size of Kiev this month, as Russia responded with strikes on some recaptured areas.