President Zelenskyy has announced the dismissal of Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov amid Ukraine’s counteroffensive. He also gives an explanation for this.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced the dismissal of Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov amid Ukraine’s counteroffensive. Zelenskyy announced in his evening video message distributed in Kiev that he would propose the head of the State Property Fund, Rustem Umerov, to Parliament as his successor. The step had been expected for a long time.
Reznikov has spent 550 days in the post of minister since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression. “I believe that the ministry needs new approaches and different formats of cooperation with the soldiers and society as a whole,” said Zelenskyy. He expects the parliament in Kiev to approve his proposal to appoint the 41-year-old Crimean Tatar Umerov, Zelenskyy said.
Scandals could be the reason for the dismissal
The Ukrainian media had reported in the past – and increasingly so in the past few days – that Resnikov’s replacement was imminent. Resnikov had recently repeatedly stated that he was ready to go, but that a replacement had to be found for him. Reznikov said that he talked to Zelenskyy about another post.
Lawyer Reznikov took office a few months before Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine began in February 2022. At that time he had little military experience. The Ministry of Defense was rocked by corruption scandals during his tenure.
In January Reznikov retained his post, but his deputy was forced to resign after the ministry was accused of selling food contracts at grossly inflated prices. At that time, Resnikov had admitted a “failure” by the anti-corruption authorities.
At the end of August, several media reported that the Ministry of Defense in Kiev signed a contract with a Turkish company at the end of 2022 for the supply of winter uniforms, the price of which tripled after the contract was signed. Reznikov denied the reports, saying everything about the uniform purchase was done “in accordance with the Public Procurement Act.”
Kyiv takes action against corruption
At the beginning of August, head of state Selenskyj dismissed all those responsible for the recruitment of soldiers in the region. Cases of corruption in recruitment had previously become known. According to this, conscripts could evade armed service by paying bribes.
Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression, the leadership in Kiev has been trying to take more consistent action against corruption and bribery in the country. The European Union has made progress in fighting corruption a condition of Ukraine’s bid for EU membership. The Ukrainian domestic secret service SBU took the powerful Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, one of the richest people in the country, into custody just last weekend. He is accused of money laundering.
Reznikov, 57, has become one of the most prominent faces of Ukraine’s efforts to supply modern weapons to its western allies since Russia’s attack. In an interview shortly before the announcement of his dismissal, Reznikov had said that he expected the use of the F16 fighter jets against the Russian war of aggression in the coming spring, as promised by Western allies. The minister told the Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform that in addition to the training of pilots on the fighter jets in the country, the infrastructure and experts and systems for maintenance must also be available. It will therefore be spring before the machines are actually used at the front.
Resnikov insists on more weapons
The Netherlands, Denmark and Norway had pledged F-16 supplies to Ukraine. Reznikov also said he had to write several letters with assurances that these NATO weapons would not be used against Russian territory. On the other hand, Russia had warned that the use of Western warplanes would contribute to the further escalation of violence in the war.
So far, the country has been assured of more than 50 aircraft, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently demanded a total of 160 F-16s, with which the country wants to regain sovereignty over its airspace. Several countries are involved in training Ukrainian pilots.
