Beleagured Ukraine President sacks army chief

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has sacked the head of the armed forces, Col Gen Volodymyr Zamana, according to the president’s website. The move comes after the most intense violence in Ukraine’s three-month crisis turned Kiev into a battle zone. Earlier, the state security service announced it was launching a nationwide “anti-terrorist” campaign, to deal with a growing “extremist threat”. There was a suggestion the armed forces could be deployed for the first time. Col Gen Zamana has been replaced by the commander of Ukraine’s navy, Admiral Yuriy Ilyin, by presidential decree, according to BBC.