- `kubeadm init` and `kubeadm init phase` now have a `--image-repository` flag, improving support for environments with limited access to official kubernetes repository.
- The DynamicKubeletConfig and SelfHosting functionality was moved outside of `kubeadm init` and feature gates and is now exposed under `kubeadm alpha`.

- Kubeadm: if the user has customized their image repository via the kubeadm configuration, pass the custom pause image repository and tag to the kubelet via --pod-infra-container-image not only for Docker but for all container runtimes. This flag tells the kubelet that it should not garbage collect the image. ([#99476](https://github.com...

### SIG CLI

- Added a sample-cli-plugin staging repository and cli-runtime staging repository to help showcase the new kubectl plugins mechanism. ([#67938](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/67938), [#67658](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/67658), [@soltysh](https://github.com/soltysh))

### Staging Repositories

- The CRI API is now available in the `k8s.io/cri-api` staging repository. ([#75531](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/75531), [@dims](https://github.com/dims))

- [Unit tests](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/issues/51540) added support for Windows
- [Conformance tests](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/108592) added support for Windows
- New repository created for [Windows Operational Readiness](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/windows-operational-readiness)

### Moved container registry service from k8s.gcr.io to registry.k8s.io

### Other (Cleanup or Flake)

- Kubeadm: change the default image repository for CI images from 'gcr.io/kubernetes-ci-images' to 'gcr.io/k8s-staging-ci-images' ([#97087](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/97087), [@SataQiu](https://github.com/SataQiu)) [SIG Cluster Lifecycle]

  of probes, labels, annotations and initContainers from copy pod. ([#123149](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/123149), [@mochizuki875](https://github.com/mochizuki875)) [SIG CLI and Testing]
- Added `cri-client` staging repository. ([#123797](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/123797), [@saschagrunert](https://github.com/saschagrunert)) [SIG API Machinery, Node, Release and Testing]

### OpenStack

SIG-OpenStack updated the OpenStack provider to use newer APIs, consolidated community code into one repository, engaged with the Cloud Provider Working Group to have a consistent plan for moving provider code into individual repositories, improved testing of provider code, and strengthened ties with the OpenStack developer community.

* set EnableHTTPSTrafficOnly in azure storage account creation ([#64957](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/64957), [@andyzhangx](https://github.com/andyzhangx))
* Re-adds `pkg/generated/bindata.go` to the repository to allow some parts of k8s.io/kubernetes to be go-vendorable. ([#65985](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/65985), [@ixdy](https://github.com/ixdy))

- Hyperkube will now be available in a new Github repository and will not be included in the kubernetes release from 1.17 onwards ([#83454](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/83454), [@dims](https://github.com/dims))