Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has proposed replacing Sergei Shoigu as defence minister and appointed him as secretary of Russia’s national security council.

The appointment comes after Mr Putin proposed appointing Andrei Belousov as the country’s defence minister in place of Mr Shoigu, who has served in the post for years.

The reshuffle comes as Mr Putin starts his fifth presidential term and as the war in Ukraine drags on for the third year

In line with Russian law, the entire Russian Cabinet resigned on Tuesday following Mr Putin’s glittering inauguration in the Kremlin.

The announcement came as thousands more civilians have fled Russia’s renewed ground offensive in Ukraine’s north east that has targeted towns and villages with a barrage of artillery and mortar shelling.

The intense battles have forced at least one Ukrainian unit to withdraw in the Kharkiv region, giving up more land to Russian forces across less defended settlements in the so-called contested grey zone along the Russian border.

By Sunday afternoon, the town of Vovchansk, among the largest in the north east with a pr-war population of 17,000, emerged as a focal point in the battle.

Volodymyr Tymoshko, the head of the Kharkiv regional police, said that Russian forces were on the outskirts of the town and approaching from three directions.

“Infantry fighting is already taking place,” he said.