Ukraine: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has removed his Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov. Oleksiy Reznikov became Defense Minister of Ukraine in November 2021, 3 months before the start of the war. Now his place will be taken by former MP of Crimean Tatar origin Rustam Umerov. Zelensky has announced this on his Telegram account.
He said- Reznikov had held the ministry for 550 days of the war, and now the ministry needs a new approach. Under Reznikov, Ukraine received a lot of help from Western countries to compete with Russia.
Umerov, 41, is the leader of the opposition party Holos in Ukraine. He has been involved in the exchange of prisoners of war, civilians, and children with Russia. He also played an important role in evacuating people from Ukrainian areas occupied by Russia.
On January 24, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov had to resign after being implicated in a corruption scandal. According to the New York Times report, allegations were made against Oleksiy Reznikov due to this scandal. However, there are no direct allegations of corruption against Oleksiy. It is believed that the scam in the Defense Ministry amid the war has tarnished Ukraine’s image around the world.
A scam came to light in August. It was claimed that military jackets supplied to Ukrainian troops were purchased at three times the higher price. Light summer jackets were purchased for the soldiers in place of winter jackets. In the documents of the supplier supplying the jackets, their price is stated to be $29 per jacket, whereas the Defense Ministry is shown to have purchased them at the rate of $86 per jacket.