Ukraine’s defence minister sacked as Zelensky prepares ‘new approach’
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Volodymyr Zelensky has sacked his wartime minister of defence and replaced him with a trusted political ally who took part in failed peace talks last year with Russia.
The dismissal of Oleksii Reznikov, who has headed Ukraine’s defence ministry since Russia invaded in February 2022, needs to be approved by the Ukrainian parliament.
“I believe that the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society at large,” Mr Zelensky said.
The 57-year-old Mr Reznikov became one of the most high-profile Ukrainians of the war, representing Ukraine at Nato meetings and dozens of bilateral talks to secure billions of pounds worth of funding and cutting-edge kit to fight Russia.
Ben Wallace, the former British defence minister, described Mr Reznikov as his “good friend”.
But his period as defence minister has been tarnished by corruption allegations and Mr Zelensky has been close to firing him previously.
Earlier this year, Mr Reznikov nearly lost his job after an investigation into inflated prices that the Ukrainian ministry of defence was paying for soldiers’ rations.
Last month, Mr Zelensky fired several regional military commissars for taking bribes from men to dodge conscription and the Telegraph also reported exclusively this week on the arrest of the head of military recruitment in Odesa, who is suspected of buying a villa and cars with money from corrupt funds which he denies.
Clamp down on corruption
Mr Zelensky didn’t give specific details on why he had decided to fire Mr Reznikov but he also didn’t praise him. Mr Reznikov has been implicated, but not charged, in some of the ministry of defence corruption scandals and Mr Zelensky has promised his allies in the West that despite fighting a war, he will also clamp down on corruption.
“I have decided to replace the minister of defence of Ukraine. Oleksiy Reznikov has gone through more than 550 days of full-scale war,” he said.
The sacking is the most significant in the Ukrainian government during the 18-month-long war and Rustem Umerov, Mr Zelensky’s choice as the new minister of defence, will take over at a crucial juncture.
Some of Ukraine’s Western allies have started criticising Kyiv for not making more progress in its counter-offensive that was launched three months ago and is backed by a large amount of Western military kit, secured by Mr Reznikov. Ukraine also needs to integrate F-16 fighter jets that its pilots are training on into its battleplans.
Mr Umerov is a 41-year-old Crimean Tatar born in Uzbekistan who has headed the Ukrainian State Property Fund since 2022. He is trusted by Mr Zelensky, and has been part of several Ukrainian negotiating teams since the start of the war.
“Rustem Umerov should lead the ministry. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine knows this person well, and Mr Umerov does not need any additional introductions,” Mr Zelensky said.
Verkhovna Rada is the name of the Ukrainian parliament.
Analysts said that Mr Umerov’s appointment was important because he was considered a Zelensky loyalist and that as Crimean Tatar, it was sending a message to Moscow that despite the slow pace of its counter-offensive, Kyiv still very much intended to recapture the region.
Mr Umerov was part of the Ukrainian negotiating team that failed to agree on a peace deal with Russia in March last year. Mr Umerov and Roman Abramovich, the former Chelsea Football Club owner, who acted as a go-between, later complained of suspected poisoning and irritated eyes.
