Directions: In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank.

One of the key decisions Vladimir Putin took after being sworn in as Russia’s President for the fifth time was to remove his long-time Minister of Defence, Sergei Shoigu. That Andrei Belousov, a civilian economist, has been ___(1)___ in to run the Defence Ministry shows how much the war in Ukraine has become an economic battle for Russia as it struggles to stabilise its war-time economy and keep its energy ties and defence production going despite biting western sanctions. There have been criticisms about the way Mr. Shoigu planned and executed the war, which Russia, according to western intelligence, expected to be a quick affair. But Mr. Shoigu, who successfully executed the ___(2)___ of Crimea in 2014 and Russia’s military intervention in Syria starting 2015, has deep ties with both the Kremlin and Russia’s defence industrial complex. Even when Russia faced setbacks initially and a rare rebellion led by the late Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin ___(3)___ the defence leadership, Mr. Putin threw his weight behind Mr. Shoigu. But now, as Mr. Putin begins a new term with a promise to Russia of victory in Ukraine he has decided to shake up the Defence Ministry and bring in a technocrat whose quick and primary responsibility would be to meet military objectives quickly. The change comes at a time when Russia has gained battlefield momentum. Last week, it ___(4)___ a new offensive in the northeast, in an apparent bid to attack Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city. Ukraine is expecting new weapons from the U.S., but it is not clear whether that would be enough for its war-fatigued army to withstand the Russian onslaught. Mr. Putin’s immediate goal is to win the war, but he does not have a clear path to victory either. The war has caused lasting damage to Russia’s ties with the West, especially with Europe with which Mr. Putin had sought to ___(5)___ strong economic and energy ties, and driven Russia deeper into China’s hands.