Ukraine: Zelensky plans to replace Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov

The replacement of the Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov intends to ask the parliament of the country Ukrainian chairman Volodymyr Zelensky.

As the Ukrainian president said on Sunday, he will request that Raster Umerov, who is the head of Ukraine’s privatization fund, be appointed to the position of defense minister.

The announcement, made during Zelensky’s nightly, videotaped message to the nation, sets the stage for the biggest wartime shakeup of Ukraine’s defense leadership.

Reznikov took over as defense minister in November 2021 and after the start of the war with Russia in February 2022, he helped secure billions of dollars in military aid from Western countries. However, his name was tarnished by allegations of corruption in the ministry, which he called slander.

“I decided to replace the Minister of Defense of Ukraine. Oleksii Reznikov spent more than 550 days in a full-scale war. I believe that the ministry needs new approaches and other forms of interaction with both the military and society at largeZelensky said.

The minister’s replacement must be approved by parliament and is unlikely to be supported by a majority. Zelensky said he expects parliament to also approve Umerov’s appointment. The 41-year-old former lawmaker Rustem Umerov is a Crimean Tatar and was appointed head of the State Property Fund in September 2022. He has played a key role in sensitive wartime negotiations, for example on the Black Sea grain export agreement.

Zelensky also said that in talks he had earlier today with French President Emmanuel Macron he had achieved “a very important agreement on the training” of Ukrainian pilots in France. “Our coalition of modern fighters is getting stronger,” he said. He added that with Macron they also discussed what France could do to help protect Odessa and the wider region.