September 3rd 2023.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he intends to replace the current defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, in a major government shakeup. During a nightly address, Zelensky said that it was time for “new approaches” in the defence ministry. Although Reznikov has not been personally implicated in any of the two investigations into his department’s bookkeeping, the president believes that it is time for a change.
Zelensky declared that Rusten Umerov, the chairman of Ukraine’s State Property Fund, will take over the role. Umerov has been the face of Ukraine’s privatization effort, selling state assets such as sites for enterprises. The president expressed his confidence that the parliament will approve the new appointment.
Reznikov has been one of the most prominent faces in the Ukraine-Russia war, going through more than 550 days of full-scale war. “I believe that the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society at large,” Zelensky said. He added that it was a time to “strengthen” and ended his address with a patriotic “Glory to Ukraine!”
The replacement announcement comes as Ukraine’s counteroffensive begins to make small yet tactical dents in Russia’s defences. Brig Gen Oleksandr Tarnavski told The Observer newspaper that Kyiv forces have pierced Russia’s defensive lines near Zaporizhzhia. On Monday, Ukraine seized the southeastern village of Robotyne as the country’s grinding counter-offensive continues to reap small but significant advances.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence is currently under the magnifying glass due to two government inquiries related to war profiteering. The investigations include the ministry purchasing military rations at inflated prices. For example, the ministry was found to be buying eggs at 17 hryvnias per piece, while the average price of an egg in Ukraine is around seven hryvnias. Deputy defence minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov resigned in January in the wake of the scandal. Reznikov claimed that the ballooned prices were a “technical error” by the contractor and that the exposé was “nothing but manipulations”. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine also said in a since-deleted post in January that another deputy minister was caught appearing to accept a $400,000 bribe for overpriced electrical generators.
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