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Ukraine’s President Replacing Defense Minister

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says he is replacing his minister of defense in the biggest shake-up in the leadership since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In a statement, Zelensky cited the need for “new approaches” after more than 18 months of conflict in which Ukraine recently made little progress in regaining lost territories.

The dismissal of Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov came after financial wrongdoing in the ministry was uncovered, with the government starting investigations into official corruption.

The largest scandals center around the ministry’s procurement of goods and equipment for the army at inflated prices.

Earlier this year, Reznikov’s deputy, Vyacheslav Shapovalov, resigned due to the wrongdoing, while Reznikov barely held on to his post.

Besides, the defense ministry was rocked by recent arrests at regional recruitment offices, where officers were accused of taking bribes to allow men to avoid Ukraine’s military draft.

WIDENING PROBE

The advocacy group Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index ranks Ukraine 116th out of 180.

However, anti-corruption activists acknowledge that anti-graft efforts in recent years have seen its position “improve significantly.”

Zelensky said that Reznikov, who has not been personally implicated in the widening probe into the mishandling of military contracts, would be replaced by Rustem Umerov, the chairman of Ukraine’s State Property Fund.

The president said he expected Ukraine’s Parliament to agree to his request. “I believe that the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society as a whole,” Zelensky stressed in televised remarks from Kyiv, the capital.

Ukrainian media suggested that Reznikov will become Kyiv’s new ambassador in London, where he has reportedly developed good ties with senior politicians.

Yet changes in the military leadership come at a time of increased fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops as well as drone and missile strikes in Ukraine and increasingly inside Russia.