Free Republic

A top advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has reportedly admitted that corruption is so rampant in the wartorn former Soviet state that officials are “stealing like there’s no tomorrow”. Speaking anonymously to Time magazine, what is alleged to be a top presidential advisor to Zelensky said that the Ukrainian government’s efforts to stamp out corruption have proved fruitless, given that they were implemented too late to have any impact, including the firing of Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov.

Volodymyr Zelensky has sacked his wartime minister of defence and replaced him with a trusted political ally who took part in failed peace talks last year with Russia.The dismissal of Oleksii Reznikov, who has headed Ukraine’s defence ministry since Russia invaded in February 2022, needs to be approved by the Ukrainian parliament.“I believe that the Ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society at large,” Mr Zelensky said.The 57-year-old Mr Reznikov became one of the most high-profile Ukrainians of the war, representing Ukraine at Nato meetings and dozens of bilateral talks to secure...

Knowing that Crimea has been built into a fortress, Ukrainians talk about the “political military” liberation of Crimea, not a purely military counteroffensive, he said.Once we have cut off the roads, railroads, and waterways to the peninsula, and targeted the military infrastructure with drones, we presume that many Russian inhabitants, especially recent immigrants, will become convinced that they would be better off living elsewhere, he said.Some have reportedly fled already, The Atlantic noted, following an explosion on the Kerch Strait Bridge (which connects Crimea to Russia) and other explosions on the peninsula.“We will take Crimea without a fight,” Reznikov told...

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov will likely be dismissed from his ministerial post next week, Ukrainian news outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported on Feb. 5, citing government and military sources.According to the sources, the likely replacement for Reznikov is understood to be Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's military intelligence agency HUR. In a soon-to-be-published interview with Ukrainska Pravda, Reznikov reportedly denied any knowledge of an imminent dismissal.“I have not had any conversations about my resignation from this position,” he reportedly said.A government source confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that Reznikov was likely to be replaced in the very near future.

Three common antihistamine medications have been found in preliminary tests to inhibit infection of cells by the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, University of Florida Health researchers have found. Their findings, based on laboratory tests of cells and a detailed analysis of nearly a quarter-million California patients’ medical records, are published today in the journal Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. The data may support the launch of a randomized, controlled clinical trial to determine whether the specific antihistamines can treat or even prevent COVID-19 in humans, the researchers said. Earlier this year, Leah Reznikov, Ph.D., an assistant professor of physiological sciences...