Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he intends to replace Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, after allegations that the department procured military supplies for inflated prices caused a public uproar.
“I think the ministry needs new approaches and another format of cooperation with the military and with the society,” Zelenskiy said Sunday in his daily video address. “The parliament will be asked to approve the decision this week.”
He proposed State Property Fund head Rustem Umerov as new defense chief. Umerov, who has been involved in war-related talks, including on prisoner swaps, has been praised by anti-corruption activists for his efforts to clean up graft at the fund.
Read more: Ukraine Pitches High Returns in Wartime Fire Sale of State Firms
Reznikov has rejected the allegations by anti-graft activists and media that the ministry overpaid for food and military uniforms. With Ukraine under Russian attack for more than one-and-a-half years, he said last week he was increasingly exhausted.
Any defense minister nominated by Ukraine’s president must be approved by lawmakers.
Facing public pressure over concern that sleaze is undermining the military while Ukrainians are fighting Russians at the front, Zelenskiy stepped up a crackdown when he fired all of the army’s top draft officers last month, following the dismissal of a number of lawmakers, including his own.
Reznikov, 57, was appointed two months before Russia’s February 2022 invasion. He has spent much of the war traveling to allied countries to drum up support for Kyiv.
Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a lawmaker who often reports on activities in parliament after security was tightened and televised sessions were banned because of the war, said Reznikov may be named Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK.
