Photo: ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the dismissal of Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov from his post.and that he would ask parliament this week to replace it with Rustem Umerovhead of the main Ukrainian privatization fund.
The announcement, made in his late-night video address to the nation, sets the stage for the biggest wartime shakeup of Ukraine’s defense system launched by Russia in February 2022.
Reznikov, who was appointed defense minister in November 2021, helped secure billions of dollars of Western military aid. to help the war effort, but found himself dogged by corruption allegations surrounding his ministry that he described as smears.
Since January, there have been reports revealing that the army was acquiring food for the troops at prices well above the market. Although Reznikov was apparently not involved in the contract award process, part of public opinion demanded that he take responsibility for the scandal in the first person.
In addition, a few weeks ago a local media outlet accused his ministry of corruption again, related to a contract for the purchase of coats for the coming winter.
“I have decided to replace the Minister of Defense of Ukraine. Oleksii Reznikov has gone through more than 550 days of full-scale warZelensky said.
“I think the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction both with the army and with society as a whole.”
The change of defense minister must be approved by parliament, but will probably have the support of a majority of lawmakers from the Verkhovna Rada. Zelensky said he expected parliament to approve Umerov’s appointment.
Umerov, a 41-year-old former Crimean Tatar lawmaker, has headed the Ukrainian State Property Fund since September 2022 and has played a role in sensitive wartime negotiations on, for example, the Black Sea grain deal.
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