The governor of the Zabaikalsky region in Siberia dismissed his entire cabinet on Tuesday after the chief prosecutor of Russia urged local law enforcement to reinstate government payments to the families of soldiers who lost their lives in Ukraine.

Governor Alexander Osipov announced that his deputies and regional ministers will remain in their positions as “acting” officials until he appoints new ones.

Osipov stated that their handling of citizen issues will serve as a test of their competence during this interim period, during an emergency meeting aimed at addressing concerns raised by Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov.

Last week, Krasnov instructed regional prosecutor Alexander Yanovsky to investigate complaints from widows and surviving relatives of local soldiers about the cessation of government payments, informally referred to as “coffin money.”

“It’s hard for me to comprehend why this assistance was revoked. I see this as a blatant form of cruelty,” Krasnov remarked during his trip to the regional capital, Chita.

Zabaikalsky region ranks 22nd among Russia’s regions in terms of the number of soldiers killed in Ukraine, with independent media reporting 1,809 names as part of the total death toll of 111,500.

In the emergency meeting held on Tuesday with prosecutor Yanovsky, Governor Osipov expressed disapproval of the payment cancellations.

He noted that an interagency commission, along with prosecutors, will assess the performance of the ousted cabinet members to inform future staffing decisions.

“This is a moment for everyone to reflect on whether they are truly capable of fulfilling their responsibilities under the current circumstances,” he added.