On Wednesday, the Ukrainian parliament approved the appointment of former lawmaker Rustem Umerov as defense minister, in the most significant reshuffle of the defense establishment since Russia’s invasion 18 months ago.
Umerov substitutes Oleksii Reznikov, who had supported secure billions of dollars of Western military support as defense minister but was dogged by media allegations of corruption at the ministry and discharged by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday.
Reznikov did not face allegations of corruption himself but says he is the target of a smear campaign. His removal is not expected to impact Ukraine’s military strategy.
The Ukrainian defense ministry wrote in X (formerly known as Twitter), “Welcome aboard, Minister.”
Lawmakers had approved the removal of Reznikov on Monday after he tendered his resignation after the decision of Zelenskyy to discharge him.
When suggesting Umerov, Zelenskyy said new approaches and other forms of interaction with the military and society were needed as Russia’s invasion entered its 19th month.
To control the defense establishment during the full-scale battle with Russia is a significant responsibility, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said. We expect that the new minister will quickly step into his responsibilities and continue reforms of the defense sector, he added.
Before Umerov’s appointment headed Ukraine’s central privatization agency – the State Property Fund – for about a year.
He was credited for toppling the establishment and resuming the actions to sell loss-making state-owned firms to private investors despite the war.
