The governor of Siberia’s Zabaikalsky region dismissed his entire cabinet on Tuesday after Russia’s top prosecutor asked regional law enforcement authorities to restore the issuance of government payments to the families of soldiers killed in Ukraine.
Zabaikalsky region Governor Alexander Osipov said his deputies and regional ministers will continue their work as “acting” officials until he makes new appointments.
“Their work in resolving issues for citizens will be treated as an aptitude test,” Osipov said at an emergency meeting to address issues raised by Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov.
Krasnov last week ordered regional prosecutor Alexander Yanovsky to look into claims from the widows and other surviving family members of local soldiers that they stopped receiving government payouts — known colloquially as “coffin money.”
“It’s difficult for me to understand the cancellation of assistance. I view this as a kind of official form of cruelty,” Krasnov said during his visit to the regional capital of Chita.
Among Russia’s regions, Zabaikalsky has the 22nd-highest number of soldiers killed in Ukraine, according to an independent media tally that has identified 1,809 names out of the overall death toll of 111,500.
Governor Osipov, who held Tuesday’s emergency meeting with prosecutor Yanovsky, criticized the payment cancellations.
He said an interagency commission and prosecutors will evaluate the dismissed cabinet members’ performance to make future hiring decisions.
“This is an opportunity for everyone to ask themselves if they’re going to really be able to handle their duties in the existing circumstances.”
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