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Zelensky says decided to fire Defense Minister Reznikov

Ukrainian President suggested that he be succeeded by Rustem Umerov

MOSCOW, September 3. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said on Sunday he has decided to fire Alexey Reznikov as defense minister and suggested that he be succeeded by Rustem Umerov.

"I have decided to change the Ukrainian defense minister," he said in a video address posted on his Telegram channel. "I think that the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of communication with both the military and society in general. Now, the ministry should be headed by Rustem Umerov. The Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada (parliament - TASS) knows this man very well and Mr. Umerov need no additional introductions. I expect parliament to support this candidature.".

The defense ministry and Reznikov were in the center of corruption scandals more than once. Thus, in January, the UNIAN agency and the Zerkalo Nedeli newspaper published findings of a journalist investigation exposing that the defense ministry is purchasing food for the army twice or even thrice the price at retail outlets in Kiev. Reznikov denied the reports slamming them as fakes geared to smear the ministry’s top officials.

However, another scandal, dubbed in Ukraine as a "jacketgate scandal," broke out in August. According to journalists’ findings, in the fall of 2022, the defense ministry struck a deal with a Turkish company for the supplies of winter clothing for the army. The contract provided for the supply of 4,900 jackets to a sum of $142,000. But the ultimate sum rose to $421,000. Moreover, it turned out that the supplier was based not in Turkey but in Zaporozhye. A Kiev district court brought criminal charges.

Rustem Umerov was born in 1982 in Uzbekistan, where his family was deported in 1944. The Umerovs returned to Crimea in the late 1980s as part of the repatriation Crimean Tatars. He graduated from the National State Administration Academy under the Ukrainian President, specializing in economics and finance. He engaged in business and investment activities.

In 2019, he was elected to the Verkhova Rada with the Golos (Voice) party. He is secretary of the human rights committee. Since 2022, Umerov has been heading Ukraine’s State Property Committee.

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