Zelensky replaced the Minister of Defense of Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that he had decided to remove Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov from office and would ask parliament this week to replace him. 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 shake-up of Ukraine’s military defense system launched by Russia in February 2022.

Reznikov, who was appointed defense minister in November 2021, helped secure billions of dollars in Western military aid to aid the war effort, but has been dogged by allegations of corruption against his ministry that he called slander.

“I have decided to change the Minister of Defense of Ukraine. Oleksiy Reznikov survived more than 550 days of a full-scale war,” Zelensky said.

“I think the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction both with the military and with society as a whole,” he added.

A firefighter works at a site affected by Russian drone strikes in the Odessa region of Ukraine on September 3, 2023. Photo: Reuters.

The change of defense minister must be approved by parliament, but is likely to receive the support of a majority of lawmakers in the Verkhovna Rada. Zelensky expressed hope that the parliament would approve the appointment of Umerov.

Umerov, a 41-year-old former Crimean Tatar MP, has headed the State Property Fund of Ukraine since September 2022 and played a role in delicate military negotiations, such as the Black Sea grain deal.

Source: Aristegui Noticias

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