- By Paul Adams, international correspondent, & Malu Cursino
- BBC News, Kyiv & London
Ukraine’s Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov has been dismissed from his post, the country’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky has announced.
Mr Reznikov had led the ministry since before the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
In his nightly address, President Zelensky said it was time for “new approaches” in the defence ministry.
Rustem Umerov, who runs Ukraine’s State Property Fund, has been nominated by Mr Zelensky as Mr Reznikov’s successor.
“I believe that the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society as a whole,” the Ukrainian president said in his nightly address from the capital Kyiv.
Ukrainian media has speculated that Mr Reznikov will become Kyiv’s new ambassador in London, where he has developed good relations with senior politicians.
Mr Reznikov, 57, has become a well-known figure since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Internationally recognised, he has regularly attended meetings with Ukraine’s western allies, and played a key role in lobbying for additional military equipment.
But his dismissal has been anticipated for some time. Last week, Mr Reznikov told reporters he was exploring other positions with the Ukrainian president.
According to Ukrainian media, the former defence minister said that if Mr Zelensky offered the opportunity for him to work on another project he would probably agree.
His dismissal comes amid a wider anti-corruption drive in Mr Zelensky’s administration, with weeding out graft in the state seen as essential to Ukraine’s desire to join Western institutions like the EU.
While Mr Reznikov is not personally accused of corruption, there have been a number of scandals involving procurement at the ministry of defence over goods and equipment for the army.
Earlier this year Mr Reznikov’s deputy, Vyacheslav Shapovalov, resigned in the wake of the scandal. It was widely reported at the time that Mr Reznikov barely held on to his own post.
At the time, Mr Reznikov said the stress he had endured this year “is hard to measure precisely”, adding that his “conscience is absolutely clear”.
His dismissal comes as Ukraine wages a slow and bloody counter-offensive after securing more advanced weapons from Western allies.
Progress on the frontline has been slow but top Ukrainian generals said on Sunday that their forces have broken through a key line of Russian defences in the south of the country.
