KYIV (AFP) — Ukraine’s defense minister Oleksiy Reznikov will be replaced by the chief of the military intelligence ahead of an expected Russian offensive and following corruption scandals, a senior lawmaker said Sunday.
“We are preparing decisions and negotiations that should strengthen our soldiers, give Ukraine more international support and more weapons,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address without elaborating.
Zelensky said this week he wanted talks on Ukraine’s membership in the EU to begin this year, stepping up the fight against corruption.
A senior lawmaker close to Zelensky said later Sunday that 56-year-old Reznikov, one of the best-known faces of the country’s war effort, would be replaced.
“Kyrylo Budanov will head the defense ministry, which is absolutely logical in wartime,” said lawmaker David Arakhamia, referring to the 37-year-old chief of military intelligence.
Holding the rank of major general, Budanov has headed the military intelligence since August, 2020. Reznikov will be appointed minister for strategic industries, said Arakhamia.
Forced to resign
“War dictates personnel policies. Time and circumstances require reinforcement and regrouping,” he added. “The enemy is preparing to advance. We are preparing to defend ourselves.”
Reznikov was appointed defense minister in November, 2021 and has helped secure Western weapons to buttress Ukrainian forces. But his ministry has been beset by corruption scandals.
Reznikov’s deputy was forced to resign in late January after the ministry was accused of signing food contracts at prices two to three times higher than current rates for basic foodstuffs.
Speaking to reporters earlier Sunday, Reznikov did not say if he planned to stay on at the ministry, but that only President Zelensky could decide his fate.
“The stress that I have endured this year is hard to measure precisely. I am not ashamed of anything,” Reznikov said. “My conscience is absolutely clear.”
An internal audit of procurement procedures was under way at the defense ministry, he said.
He added that the ministry’s own anti-corruption department had “failed” to do its job and needed to be “completely rebooted”.
With graft a key European concern, Ukraine’s government has stepped up work to clean up its act, launching high-profile raids this week targeting an oligarch with political connections, and a former interior minister.
Speaking to reporters, Reznikov also urged the West to send warplanes, after Germany and the United States finally agreed to supply heavy tanks following weeks of deliberations.