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Zelensky officially submits Umerov’s candidacy for Defense Minister to parliament

Earlier in the day, the Verkhovna Rada voted to approve Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov’s resignation

MOSCOW, September 5. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has nominated former head of the State Property Fund Rustem Umerov as the country’s Defense Minister and submitted his candidacy to the Verkhovna Rada, or parliament, for voting.

According to the Ukrainian parliament’s website, the corresponding document was registered on Tuesday and referred to the relevant parliamentary committee.

Earlier in the day, the Verkhovna Rada voted to approve Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov’s resignation. According to lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak, voting on the new minister will take place on Wednesday.

Amid another corruption-related scandal in the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Zelensky said on September 3 that he had decided to replace Reznikov with Umerov. On the following day, Reznikov submitted his resignation request to parliament.

Umerov has been heading Ukraine’s State Property Committee since September 2022. Prior to that, he was a businessman and entrepreneur. In 2019, he was elected to the Verkhovna Rada on the Golos (Voice) party ticket. He graduated from the Ukrainian National Academy of Management with degrees in finance and economics, and was trained under the "Future Leaders Exchange Program" (FLEX, USA).

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