Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced his most significant wartime cabinet shakeup yet, tapping a new defense minister as Kyiv ramps up an anti-graft crackdown and presses a grinding offensive in the country’s occupied south.
Zelenskyy named Rustem Umerov, the head of Ukraine’s State Property Fund, to replace Oleksii Reznikov, who has battled allegations of graft in military procurement by subordinates on his watch.
Reznikov, who has denied wrongdoing and informed the president this summer that he was overworked, shook up top positions in the ministry in February to weed out sleaze. He submitted his resignation on Monday, he said in a post on X, formerly called Twitter.
The UK government now expects him to be named as Kyiv’s ambassador to London, although the appointment has yet to be confirmed, according to people familiar with the situation. He wasn’t personally involved in corruption and isn’t under investigation, a person familiar with Ukraine’s graft probe said.
“I think the ministry needs new approaches and another format of cooperation with the military and with society,” Zelenskyy said Sunday in his daily video address. “The parliament will be asked to approve the decision this week.”
Zelenskyy has ramped up a crackdown on corruption, which remains a major concern for allies as they continue to pour weapons and cash into Ukraine to help it beat back Russia’s invasion, retake occupied territory and stabilise the war-ravaged economy.
The president fired all of the army’s top draft officers last month, following the dismissal of a number of lawmakers, including from his own party. Reznikov’s removal may help give Zelenskyy cover against concern that corruption is undermining the armed forces as Ukrainian soldiers fight Russia at the front. Umerov, 41, has been praised by anti-corruption activists for his efforts to clean up graft at the State Property Fund.
He’s been involved in war-related talks, including about prisoner swaps and the grain deal that allowed Ukraine to export food via the Black Sea before Russia pulled out in July.
