Ukrainian defence minister dismisses four officials

Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov announced on Tuesday that he had dismissed three of his eight deputies and a state secretary.

In a post on Facebook, Umerov said that the armed forces, military intelligence service and transport service are closed areas under martial law.

"This means that all internal processes must be clear and controlled. Any external and internal attempts to exert influence are inadmissible," he said, without providing any further explanation about the dismissals.

He also announced the transfer of the state-owned enterprise for military exports and imports from the military intelligence service to the Defence Ministry.

Umerov has been head of Ukraine's Defence Ministry for over a year. His predecessor, Oleksii Reznikov, was dismissed following allegations of corruption, including some related to weapons procurement.