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Military operation in Ukraine

Replacement of Ukraine’s Defense Minister to have no effect on battlefield — expert

According to Andrey Bystritsky, this chess move by Ukraine to transpose political figures is merely an attempt to influence the public abroad by changing its image

MOSCOW, September 4. /TASS/. The resignation of Alexey Reznikov as Ukrainian Defense Minister will not change the course of combat operations or have some effect on Kiev's interaction with Western countries, Andrey Bystritsky, the board chairman of the Foundation for the Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club, has told TASS.

"I think that this cannot directly affect the situation on the ground," Bystritsky said. "One person, even a government minister, will not change anything overnight." The expert emphasized that visible changes in this respect would require the start of larger-scale processes and a radical restructuring of the military system.

According to Bystritsky, this chess move by Ukraine to transpose political figures is merely an attempt to influence the public abroad by changing its image.

"Any change of a leading minister is a critical gesture and a political message. Of course, it is aimed, among other things, at improving the image of Ukraine in accordance with the perceptions of President Vladimir Zelensky. This can have a certain impact on global public opinion," the expert said.

At the same time, Bystritsky believes that a new head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry will not fundamentally change anything in terms of Western support for Kiev.

On Sunday, Zelensky said that he had decided to dismiss Reznikov and suggested replacing him with Rustem Umerov, who now heads Ukraine’s State Property Fund.

The Defense Ministry and Reznikov personally have been repeatedly criticized in Ukraine for corruption scandals. In January, the UNIAN news agency and the Zerkalo Nedeli newspaper published the results of their own probe. Investigative journalists found out on the basis of a number of documents that the Defense Ministry had been purchasing food for the army at prices twice or thrice those in Kiev’s supermarkets. In August, another scandal erupted in Ukraine when journalists learned that in the fall of 2022, the Defense Ministry had signed a $142,000 contract with a Turkish firm on the supply of 4,900 winter coats. The final purchase price was $421,000. Criminal proceedings were launched.

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Military operation in Ukraine

Military operation in Ukraine

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