Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Sunday proposed replacing Sergei Shoigu as defense minister and appointed him as secretary of Russia's national security council.
The appointment comes after Putin proposed appointing Andrei Belousov as the country's defense minister in place of Shoigu, who has served in the post for years. The reshuffle comes as Putin starts his fifth presidential term and as the war in Ukraine drags on for the third year.
READ MORE: Putin begins new six-year term as president, with more power over Russia than ever
In line with Russian law, the entire Russian Cabinet resigned on Tuesday following Putin's glittering inauguration in the Kremlin.
The announcement came as thousands more civilians have fled Russia's renewed ground offensive in Ukraine's northeast that has targeted towns and villages with a barrage of artillery and mortar shelling, officials said Sunday.
Meanwhile, an apartment block partially collapsed in the Russian border city of Belgorod, leaving at least eight people dead and 20 others injured. Officials blamed Ukrainian shelling for the building's destruction.
Online footage showed rescuers searching for survivors among the remnants of the building's stairwell, then fleeing the scene as part of the roof crashed to the ground. Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry said that eight bodies had been recovered from the rubble so far.
People remove debris while searching for survivors following the collapse of a section of a multi-story apartment block, as the result of what local authorities called a Ukrainian missile strike, in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the city of Belgorod, Russia, May 12, 2024. Photo by Stringer/Reuters
Russia's Investigative Committee, the country's top law enforcement agency, said in a statement that the 10-story building had been hit by Ukrainian shelling.
The Russian Defense Ministry later wrote on social media that the building had been damaged by fragments of a downed Tochka-U TRC missile. It also said that air defenses had shot down several more rockets over the Belgorod region, as well as two drones that were destroyed in a separate incident later Sunday.
Air raid alerts continued across Belgorod as rescuers worked. The city also came under fire Saturday evening, killing one person and wounding 29 others, Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
Cities across western Russia have come under regular attack from drones since May 2023, with Russian officials blaming Kyiv. Ukrainian officials never acknowledge responsibility for attacks on Russian territory or the Crimean Peninsula.
The Belgorod region, on Russia's western border, has been the target of a large number of strikes. Although most cross-border shelling is seen in rural areas, attacks have also been seen on the region's capital. In December 2023, shelling in the heart of Belgorod city killed 25 people, prompting authorities to start erecting public shelters.
Samya Kullab reported from Kyiv.