President Zelensky dismisses Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov
President Zelensky has dismissed Kyiv’s Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov, saying that it was time for "new approaches" in Defence Ministry.
Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed Kyiv’s Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov, saying that it was time for “new approaches” in the Defence Ministry as the war with Russia entered its 19th month.
During his daily evening address to the nation on Sunday, President Zelensky acknowledged Oleksiy Reznikov’s long service, saying, “Oleksiy Reznikov has been through more than 550 days of full-scale war.” However he expressed the need for new strategies and different ways of working with the military and society as a whole.
To replace Reznikov, President Zelensky nominated Rustem Umerov, a Crimean Tatar who has served as the head of the State Property Fund since the previous year. Zelensky stated, “Now Rustem Umerov should be the head of the defense ministry,” and he expects parliament’s support for this appointment.
As per CNN, Reznikov’s removal came at a time when Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence was involved in a number of corruption scandals. While Reznikov has not been implicated in any of them, the scandals have still been seen as damaging to him by association.
Zelensky has said rooting out corruption across Ukraine’s government is vital to Kyiv’s chances of attaining long-awaited membership in NATO and the European Union.
The Ukrainian president made cracking down on internet scandals a central issue in his campaign for office.
Ms Kalinga