Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has named spy chief Kyrylo Budanov as his new chief of staff, just over a month after his previous top aide resigned amid a corruption row.
“At this time, Ukraine needs greater focus on security issues,” Zelensky said in a post on social media, publishing a photo of his meeting with Budanov in Kyiv.
Budanov, 39, has until now led the Hur military intelligence, which has claimed a number of highly-effective strikes against Russia.
His predecessor, Andriy Yermak, wielded enormous political influence throughout Russia’s full-scale invasion launched in 2022. He also led Ukraine’s negotiating team in crucial talks with the US aimed at ending the war.
In Friday’s post on social media, Zelensky wrote: “At this time, Ukraine needs greater focus on security issues, the development of the defence and security forces of Ukraine, as well as on the diplomatic track of negotiations.
“Kyrylo has specialist experience in these areas and sufficient strength to deliver results.”
The president added that he had already instructed his new office chief to update and present key documents regarding “the strategic foundations” of Ukraine’s defence.
Zelensky said Budanov was being replaced by 56-year-old foreign intelligence chief Oleh Ivashchenko.
Yermak, 54, stepped down on 28 November, and his departure was seen as a major blow to Zelensky.
Yermak quit shortly after his home in Kyiv was raided by the country’s anti-corruption agencies.
He is not accused of any wrongdoing, and the anti-corruption bureau Nabu and specialised anti-corruption prosecutor’s office Sapo did not explain why they searched his property.
In the past few months investigators have linked several high-profile figures to an alleged $100m (£75m) embezzlement scandal in the energy sector.
They said they had uncovered an extensive scheme to take kickbacks and influence state-owned companies including state nuclear energy firm Enerhoatom.
The corruption scandal has rocked Ukraine, weakening Zelensky’s own position and jeopardising the country’s negotiating position at a delicate time.
Kyiv, backed by its European allies, is seeking to change the terms of a US-led draft peace plan originally seen as heavily slanted towards Russia.
Russian officials have seized on the scandal, talking up corruption claims.
Footage shows person trying to put out flames during deadly Swiss bar fire
A fire at a bar in a Swiss ski resort appears to have been caused by sparklers placed on bottles of champagne that came “too close to the ceiling”, authorities said.
Forty people died after the blaze in the early hours of New Year’s Day in Crans-Montana, while 119 were injured.
Valais Attorney General Beatrice Pilloud told a news conference on Friday the investigation would focus on the materials used on the site, the bar’s fire safety measures, its capacity and the number of people inside at the time of the fire.
The investigation will explore whether prosecutions will be necessary. “If that is the case, and if those people are still alive, there will be a case opened against them,” she said.
“Everything leads us to think that the fire started from sparkling candles – or sparklers – which were put on bottles of champagne [that were] moved too close to the ceiling. From that, a blaze began very quickly”, Ms Pilloud told the conference.
Supplied
BBC Verify has verified two photos showing lit sparklers attached to bottles inside Le Constellation nightclub
Authorities are still working on the formal identification of the 40 people killed in the fire, with police commander Frédéric Gisler saying “that is our priority”.
Many of those injured in the fire remain in a critical condition, authorities said.
Of those injured, 113 have been formally identified, Gisler said. This figure includes 71 Swiss citizens, 14 French, and 11 Italians, as well as four Serbs, among others.
The formal identification process of six others was ongoing, he said, and warned the figures may still change.
Mathias Reynard, president of the Valais region, said around 50 injured people “have been transferred or will be transferred soon to European countries in specialised centres for severe burns”.
“Many people were injured and are still fighting to live”, Mr Reynard said.
Among those injured was 19-year-old French footballer Tahirys Dos Santos, according to a statement released by his football club, FC Mertz.
Dos Santos was “severely burned” in the fire, the club said, and has been airlifted to Germany for treatment.
Among those missing is Italian national Achille Barosi, 16, who entered the bar at 01:30 local time on New Year’s Day to retrieve his jacket and phone. His family have not heard from him since.
“We don’t know if he’s still alive,” his aunt Francesca told the BBC World Service’s OS programme. She said her nephew was an excellent painter who had enrolled in an art school in Milan.
At the news conference on Friday, officials said they were identifying victims using a process called “Disaster Victim Identification”, whereby a team of forensic specialists, doctors, dentists and investigators gather data that allows them to name the dead.
Ms Pilloud later told the news conference the investigation would also explore whether the bar ceiling complied with building regulations.
She said investigators were exploring the installation of foam in the ceiling, adding she was unable to say with certainty at this stage whether the foam did or did not comply, or if it was installed with or without authorisation.
“It’s essential we don’t make any assumptions… leave us to do our work,” she said.
She said the two French managers of the bar had been interviewed, as well as people who escaped the fire.
Ms Pilloud said the interviews had helped them to establish a list of those who were present during the incident.
Lea Zehnder, 22, was celebrating New Year’s at a bar within eye-shot of Le Constellation.
She described hearing screams coming from Le Constellation and said her boyfriend helped those with serious burns.
“They couldn’t walk or talk”, she said.
Lea Zehnder said it was only by chance that she and her boyfriend went to another venue, as they always go to Le Constellation
Meanwhile, Tristan Fischer, 20, told the BBC his 17-year-old brother had smashed windows and grabbed people from the bar as the fire took hold.
He said he was worried his brother’s mental health has been permanently affected by the incident: “He hasn’t properly spoken, he hasn’t properly slept since.”
Le Constellation is a large bar which has been around for many years.
It could hold up to 300 people and had a small terrace, although it is unknown how many people were there at the time of the fire.
On Friday, groups of tearful families and teenagers gathered near the police cordon around the bar.
Some left bunches of flowers and candles, while others placed messages at a makeshift shrine.
White tents covered the entrances and exits of the site.
Just outside town, a conference centre is being used to provide support to the families of the missing.
A ceremony will be held in Crans-Montana on 9 January so people can come together for a moment of “national mourning”.
A hiker is believed to have been killed by at least one mountain lion in the US state of Colorado on Wednesday, according to wildlife officials.
If confirmed, it would be the first fatal attack there since 1999.
A group of hikers found the woman’s body on a remote trail and spotted a lion nearby. After scaring the predatory cat off, they checked the body and could find no pulse, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) Spokesperson Kara Van Hoose said.
It is not known if one or multiple animals were involved in the attack, she added. Two mountain lions have been euthanised after an extensive search, and investigators are currently studying them for signs of human DNA.
The hikers had thrown rocks at the mountain lion to drive it away, Ms Van Hoose told a press conference. CPW officers responding to the scene shot the lion, which ran off. They then tracked it to euthanise it.
A second lion was found in the area and was also euthanised.
If neither lion appears to be the culprit, the search will resume for a possible attacker. Under CPW rules, wildlife that kills a human being must be euthanised for public safety reasons.
The woman’s body showed signs of a mountain lion attack, according to Ms Van Hoose.
The local sheriff’s office has notified her next of kin, and will later release her identity, Ms Van Hoose told the BBC. She is believed to have been hiking alone.
The Crosier Mountain Trail is north of Denver, near the Wyoming border, and close to Rocky Mountain National Park. It could be considered secluded, Ms Van Hoose said, adding hikers often lose their cell signals.
The Larimer County sheriff, police from the nearby city of Estes Park, and volunteer firefighters have been assisting in the search.
A biologist conducting a deer survey by helicopter in the area helped look for the animal and transport personnel, according to CPW. Meanwhile, houndsmen brought dogs in to track scents, which Ms Van Hoose said is an often-effective way to locate mountain lions.
Mountain lion attacks – both fatal and not – are rare in the state, with CPW recording 28 total since 1990.
Mountain lions, also called pumas, cougars, catamounts or panthers, can be found throughout North America, but now are mostly in 15 western states, according to the Mountain Lion Foundation. They are mostly solitary animals, who spend most of their time hunting, according to the foundation.
