President Zelenskij: Ukrainian Defense Minister Reznikov has been fired

As of: 12:16 am | Reading Time: 3 minutes

DUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky replaced his Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov. Zelenskyj shared on Sunday evening speechHe will nominate Rustem Umero, head of the State Property Fund, as his successor in parliament.

“I believe that the ministry needs new approaches and different types of communication with the military and society in general,” Zelensky said. It is expected to be released next week.

Reznikov was appointed Minister of Defense in November 2021. He helped Ukraine get billions of dollars in Western military aid. However, his ministry was also accused of corruption. Reznikov called this slander.

WELT interview with Umerow from September 2022

Parliament has to approve the change of defense minister. Zelensky said he expected MPs to approve Umero’s appointment.

Umero’s successor was a Crimean Tatar

Umero, a 41-year-old businessman and investor of Crimean Tatar descent, has spent years campaigning for the liberation of Crimea, a Black Sea peninsula illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. Like many Crimean Tatars, his parents were deported from Crimea under Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.

According to Ukrainian media, Umerov was a member of the US program for Future Leaders (FLEX) and is considered an expert in finance. After serving as a member of the Ukrainian parliament from 2019 to 2022, he was appointed head of the State Property Administration a year ago.

Umerov is the vice-chairman of the Crimea Platform, an annual forum dedicated to the reunification of the peninsula in Ukraine. Last but not least, the official is determined to exchange political prisoners and prisoners of war in Crimea, according to Ukrainian media. In August 2021, Zelensky awarded him the Order of Merit for the Fatherland.

Reznikov was a substitute for a while

Ukrainian media have reported in the past that 57-year-old Reznikov would be replaced immediately – and that has been increasing in the past few days. Reznikov has recently said several times that he is ready to go, but needs to find a replacement. Reznikov said he spoke with Zelensky about another post.

WELT interview with Reznikov from August

Reznikov had previously said in an interview that he expects to use F16 fighter jets against Russian aggression next spring, as promised by Western allies. The minister told Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform that in addition to training pilots in fighter jets, the country must have the infrastructure and experts and systems for maintenance. It will be spring before the machines are actually used on the front.

The Netherlands, Denmark and Norway have pledged to supply F-16s to Ukraine. Reznikov also said that he had to write several letters with assurances that these NATO weapons would not be used against Russian territory. On the other hand, Russia has warned that the use of Western warplanes could contribute to further escalation of violence in the war.

So far, more than 50 aircraft have been confirmed for the country, and Ukrainian President Zelenskyj recently requested a total of 160 F-16s as the country seeks to regain sovereignty over its airspace. Several countries are involved in training Ukrainian pilots.