Moscow, May 12 (AP) Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday proposed removing Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu from his post.

Putin nominated First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov for the role. His appointment must now be approved by Russian lawmakers.

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The change comes weeks after Timur Ivanov, a Russian deputy defence minister in charge of military construction projects, was jailed pending an investigation and trial on charges of bribery.

In line with Russian law, the entire Russian Cabinet resigned on Tuesday when Putin began his fifth presidential term at a glittering Kremlin inauguration.

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The announcement came as thousands more civilians have fled Russia's renewed ground offensive in Ukraine's northeast that has targeted towns and villages with a barrage of artillery and mortar shelling, officials said Sunday.

The intense battles have forced at least one Ukrainian unit to withdraw in the Kharkiv region, capitulating more land to Russian forces across less defended settlements in the so-called contested gray zone along the Russian border.

By Sunday afternoon, the town of Vovchansk, among the largest in the northeast with a prewar population of 17,000, emerged as a focal point in the battle. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)