Volodymyr Zelensky plans to fire his defense minister, which is a significant change in Ukraine’s government during the war.
Today, the Ukrainian president spoke during the night and said it’s important to have new ways of thinking in the defence ministry.
Oleksii Reznikov’s future has been uncertain for a while due to accusations of corrupt activities in his department. He was mentioned in a top post in November 2021.
Kyiv officials are looking into the department’s financial records, but Reznikov is not directly involved in these investigations.
Zelensky sent a message on Telegram saying that Reznikov will be replaced by Rusten Umerov.
Umerov is the person in charge of selling things that belong to Ukraine’s government.
Zelensky said that Oleksii Reznikov has experienced more than 550 days of intense, all-encompassing war.
I think the ministry should try new ways of working and communicating with the military and society.
Ukraine’s parliament, called Verkhovna Rada, needs to agree on the new choice for defense minister.
Zelensky said that the lawmakers know this person and he expects them to approve his request.
‘Fall is a time to become stronger,’ he said. ‘Hooray for Ukraine. ‘
Reznikov, one of the important officials who stayed in the capital when Russian forces blocked it during the beginning of the war, has not spoken about the change publicly.
Ukrainian generals and US officials said on Friday that Ukrainian forces successfully broke through a strong defense line in the southern part of Russia.
According to Brig Gen Oleksandr Tarnavski, the Kyiv forces have successfully broken through Russia’s defensive lines near Zaporizhzhia.
“He said that we are currently positioned in the area between the first and second lines of defense. ”
‘We are currently finishing off the enemy troops in the middle of the attack. They were protecting the Russian soldiers who are trying to escape and regroup behind their second line of defense. ’
After fighting for several weeks, Ukraine captured the village of Robotyne in the southeast on Monday. This is part of their ongoing efforts to push back against the enemy and make progress in the war.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence is currently being investigated by the government in two separate inquiries regarding making money from war.
This means that the ministry buys military food like eggs or canned beans at much higher prices than normal, like when they signed a contract that cost 13 billion hryvnias (£280,000,000).
According to a report by the Ukrainian news website ZN. UA, the defense ministry purchased eggs for 17 hryvnias each, which is much higher than the normal price of seven hryvnias per egg in Ukraine.
Deputy defense minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov, who was in charge of helping the army with supplies and organization, quit in January after the scandal happened.
Reznikov said that the increased prices were a mistake made by the contractor, and he believed that the investigation was just a way to manipulate the situation.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) previously announced in January, but later removed, that they caught another deputy minister allegedly accepting a bribe of $400,000 for overpriced electrical generators.