By Our Reporter
WORLD
Ukrainian lawmakers have today, 5th September, 2023 overwhelmingly voted to relieve Aleksey Reznikov of his duties as defense minister. He tendered his resignation on Monday, a day after President Vladimir Zelensky announced plans to replace the official.
The vote tally, shared on social media by a member of parliament, showed 327 votes in favor of dismissing Reznikov, and just four against.
The vote follows Aleksey Reznikov’s letter of resignation, which he tendered at the president’s request
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday he had decided to replace his defence minister, setting the stage for the biggest shake-up of Ukraine’s defence establishment since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
In his nightly video address to the nation, Zelenskiy said he would dismiss Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov and would ask parliament this week to replace him with Rustem Umerov, head of the country’s main privatisation fund.
Reznikov, defence minister since November 2021, has helped secure billions of dollars of Western military aid to help the war effort, but has been dogged by graft allegations surrounding his ministry that he has described as smears.
The decision comes amid a crackdown on corruption in Ukraine that Zelenskiy has been eager to emphasize. Kyiv has applied to join the European Union and the public has become highly sensitive to corruption as the war rages with no end in sight.
“I’ve decided to replace the Minister of Defence of Ukraine. Oleksii Reznikov has been through more than 550 days of full-scale war,” Zelenskiy said. “I believe the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society as a whole.”
Zelenskiy said he expected parliament to approve Umerov’s appointment, adding that Umerov “does not need any additional introduction”. Zelenskiy has to submit Umerov’s candidacy to parliament for review.
