Zelensky dismisss National Guard deputy commander

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a decree Saturday for the dismissal of a high security figure and said his efforts to clean up the government would continue.

Authorities have dismissed dozens of officials in recent weeks and have opened investigations as part of a widespread attempt against wrongdoing. The European Union says addressing corruption is a requirement for Ukraine's membership in the 27-member bloc.

Zelensky fired Ruslan Dziuban as deputy commander of the National Guard, under a brief decree issued by the presidential office. He gave no reason for the move.

Zelensky énsky who has stressed the need for the defence ministry in particular to be cleaned up. He did not specifically mention Dziubban in his daily video education.

Instead, he said he had met defence and law enforcement officials to discuss ways to protect institutions from what he called efforts from outside or inside to reduce their effectiveness and efficiency.

Ukraine's defence minister said on Thursday that hundreds of officials in the ministry or in the armed forces had been disciplined last year after internal audits, and that he had “zero tolerance” for corruption.