Zelensky Says He’ll Replace Ukraine’s Defense Minister

President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on Sunday that he was changing his minister of protection, the largest shake-up within the management of Ukraine’s struggle effort since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February final 12 months.

The destiny of the protection minister, Oleksii Reznikov, had been the topic of accelerating hypothesis in Ukraine as monetary improprieties within the ministry got here to mild and the federal government began a number of investigations into official corruption.

Mr. Zelensky stated in a press release that Mr. Reznikov, who has not been personally implicated within the widening investigations into mishandling of navy contracts, would get replaced by Rustem Umerov, the chairman of Ukraine’s State Property Fund. Mr. Zelensky stated he anticipated Ukraine’s Parliament, which should approve the change, to log out on his request.

“Oleksii Reznikov has gone through more than 550 days of full-scale war,” Mr. Zelensky stated in a press release asserting his choice on Sunday evening. “I believe that the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society at large.”

There was no instant remark from Mr. Reznikov, who has been a public face for Ukraine on the world stage. He was amongst a handful of Mr. Zelensky’s prime safety officers who remained in Kyiv, the capital, because it was partially surrounded by Russian forces after the beginning of the invasion.

Mr. Reznikov had gained reward for negotiating the switch of huge portions of donated Western weaponry underneath the Ramstein format talks with allies, named for town in Germany the place they started final 12 months. He oversaw the enlargement of the military and its transition from an arsenal of Soviet-legacy armaments to Western programs at the same time as his nation was underneath assault.

But the Ministry of Defense this 12 months was buffeted by a string of allegations of mishandling navy contracting and corruption as its funds ballooned through the struggle. At one level, $986 million price of weaponry the ministry had contracted for was undelivered by dates laid out in contracts, in keeping with authorities figures. Some deliveries are months late.

Ukrainian investigative journalists have discovered different woes with navy contracting, seeming to point out large overpayments for primary provides for the military similar to eggs, canned beans and winter coats.

Mr. Reznikov had stated the ministry was suing to recoup cash misplaced within the weapons contracts. Government officers have stated most of the issues had arisen within the early, chaotic days of the struggle in Ukraine’s frantic scramble to purchase weapons and ammunition and have since been fastened. Two ministry officers — a deputy minister and head of procurement — have been arrested over the winter after the stories of overpriced eggs.

Even so, the contracting scandals prompted calls for for Mr. Reznikov’s resignation. For weeks, Mr. Reznikov has confronted questions on his future throughout news conferences, usually saying that it was as much as Mr. Zelensky to find out the make-up of his authorities.

Corruption has plagued Ukraine for many of its post-independence historical past however had improved over the previous decade, in keeping with assessments by Transparency International, a worldwide anti-corruption group. Mr. Zelensky campaigned on an anti-corruption platform earlier than successful the presidency in 2019, and efforts to combat graft have been broadly acknowledged as essential to Ukraine’s efforts to maneuver nearer to its Western allies, together with its hopes of becoming a member of the European Union.

In latest weeks, Mr. Zelensky has stepped up measures towards wartime graft, firing all of the nation’s recruitment officers after bribery scandals and proposing a regulation that may punish corruption as treason underneath martial regulation.

In May, the pinnacle of Ukraine’s Supreme Court was detained in a bribery investigation. And on Friday, Ukrainian media reported that and a courtroom set bail at greater than $25,000 for a former deputy minister of financial system accused of embezzling humanitarian help.

In an earlier shake-up final summer time, Mr. Zelensky had dismissed the director of his home intelligence company and prosecutor normal, additionally within the wake of allegations of corruption and mismanagement.