Zelenskyy says situation in some places tough as he fires top officials

Ukrainian president sacked two senior national security service members, saying they were traitors

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks from Kyiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday night. Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday said the situation in the south and the Donbas region remained extremely difficult and reiterated that Russia was building up forces near the besieged city of Mariupol.

And in a rare sign of internal dissent, Mr Zelenskyy also said in a video address that he had sacked two senior members of the national security service on the grounds that they were traitors.

Mr Zelenskyy, who often uses colourful imagery, said the Russians were so evil and so keen on destruction that they seemed to be from another world, “monsters who burn and plunder, who attack and are bent on murder".

Russia says it is carrying out a “special operation” to disarm and “denazify” its neighbour. Moscow also denies Kyiv's accusations that Russian forces are attacking civilians.

Mr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces had pushed back the Russians from Kyiv and Chernihiv — two cities Moscow had announced would no longer be the focus of attacks as they seek to secure the separatist Donbas and Luhansk regions in the south-east.

“There will be battles ahead. We still need to go down a very difficult path to get everything we want,” he said.

“The situation in the south and in the Donbas remains extremely difficult.”

Mr Zelenskyy also said he had fired two top officials at the national security service — the overall head of internal security as well as the head of the agency's branch in the Kherson region.

A Ukrainian soldier fires his rifle from a trench at the front east of Kharkiv in the north of Ukraine, which continues to be shelled by Russian forces. AFP

A gas station on fire in Kharkiv after Russian ttack on the northern city. AFP

A medieval suit of armour 'stands guard' at a a Ukrainian checkpoint, on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv. AP Photo

Ukrainian refugees wait in line to cross the border into Poland at Shehyni. Reuters

Destroyed Russian armoured vehicles on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP Photo

A resident passes apartment buildings destroyed by Russian attacks in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine. Reuters

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, standing, welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to address the House of Representatives via video link at Parliament House in Canberra. Mr Zelenskyy appealed directly to Australian legislators for more help in the war against Russia, including armoured vehicles and tougher sanctions. AP

Fire lights up the sky east of Kharkiv, where Ukrainian forces pushed back Russian troops from a motorway outside the country's second-largest city. AFP

A destroyed Russian tank in the village of Lukianivka near Kyiv. AFP

Passengers arriving from Moscow at Manas International Airport, Bishkek, Kyrgyrzstan. Hundreds of thousands of citizens of former Soviet countries in Central Asia are facing difficult choices: shrinking work opportunities in Russia and wages in the weakened rouble versus a return to the homeland where they have family homes, but even fewer job prospects. AFP

Fire and smoke light up the sky east of Kharkiv as Ukrainian forces push back Russian troops from a motorway outside the country's second-largest city. AFP

A Ukrainian soldier shoots at the Russian positions not far from the capital Kyiv. EPA

A car marked with the English letter 'Z' is found destroyed at the central Ukrainian train station that was used as a Russian base in Trostyanets. Ukrainian forces said they had retaken the north-eastern town from the Russians. Getty Images

Rescue workers at the site of the regional administration building hit by Russian cruise missiles, in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. Reuters

A dog looks at cars passing by on the road near a house painted with the colors of the Ukrainian flag, on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv. AP Photo

A soldier poses for the picture in Kyiv, Ukraine, while standing guard amid the destruction caused after shelling of a shopping center. AP Photo

A Ukrainian serviceman stands near a destroyed Russian tank in the north-eastern city of Trostianets. AFP

A worker pushes a cart past graves of Ukrainian soldiers who were killed in battle during Russia’s attack on Ukraine, at the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv. Reuters

This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows damaged apartment buildings and homes in Mariupol. AP

A resident takes photos of a destroyed Russian tank next to the railway station where the Russian forces were stationed, in Trostyanets, a town recaptured by the Ukrainian army. EPA

A rescuer clears the rubble of a warehouse containing more than 50,000 tons of deep-frozen food in the town of Brovary, north of Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, after it was destroyed by Russian shelling. AFP

A Ukrainian army vehicle carries a Russian tank in Trostyanets. AFP

Ukrainian soldiers carry a coffin during the funeral ceremony of a comrade in Odesa. EPA

A man walks with his dog near an apartment building damaged by shelling from fighting on the outskirts of Mariupol. AP Photo

Members of the Danish Parliament attend the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky's speech to the Danish Parliament via a video link, at the Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark. EPA

A satellite image shows crowds outside a Metro grocery store in Mariupol. Reuters

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan opens Ukrainian-Russian talks in Istanbul. President Erdogan told the delegations that "both parties have legitimate concerns." AFP

Members of the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps fire a howitzer at a position in the Zaporizhzhia region. Reuters

Ukrainian refugees are helped by volunteers upon their arrival at Amsterdam Central station by train from Berlin. AFP

Ukrainian soldiers ride an armoured people carrier through the town of Trostsyanets, about 400 kilometres east of Kyiv. AP Photo

Firefighters work amid the debris of residential houses that were destroyed by Russian shelling in a settlement outside Kharkiv. Reuters

President Joe Biden said that he is not advocating for regime change in Moscow after saying Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power." AP Photo

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at a warehouse after it was hit by Russian shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine. More than half of Kharkiv's 1.4 million people have fled the city since Russia's invasion on February 24. Getty Images

Local residents pass by a destroyed Russian tank in the town of Trostyanets, east of capital Kyiv, Ukraine. The monument to the Second World War is seen in background. AP Photo

A pro-Russian troop service member walks near a destroyed apartment building in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol. Reuters

Mykhaylo, 8, who was taken away from his widowed mother along with his 9-year-old brother and 16-year-old sister, plays with a ball in the garden of a state shelter in Lviv. Reuters

Halyna Falko, 52, talks to reporters while looking at the destruction caused after a Russian attack inside her house near Brovary, on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP Photo

Curtains flutter in the wind at a building that was damaged by shelling in a neighbourhood that has been largely abandoned and left without water, gas and heating, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Reuters

People, mainly women and children, arrive at Przemysl on a train from Odesa in war-torn Ukraine in Przemysl, Poland. The Polish government has said it may spend €24 billion this year hosting refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine, and is seeking more support from the European Union. Getty Images

A woman walks a dog past the so-called "people's installation to a Russian soldier" nicknamed the "polite people" created by residents in the backyard of their apartment building in the town of Podolsk, outside Moscow. AFP

“I do not have time to deal with all the traitors, but they will gradually all be punished,” he said and added that the two men had betrayed their oath to defend Ukraine. He did not give specific details.

The occasion marked the first time Mr Zelenskyy has announced high-profile sackings of those involved in Ukraine's defence.