Ukraine’s parliament dismisses Defense Minister Reznikov

Ukrainian MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak reported the information.

The decision was supported by 327 MPs.

The new Minister of Defense is to be appointed tomorrow.

On September 4, Reznikov's resignation was supported by the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Defense. Sixteen MPs voted in favor, 2 abstained.

In turn, the Committee on Economy supported the dismissal of Rustem Umerov from the post of head of the State Property Fund. 

Earlier, Oleksii Reznikov tweeted that he had submitted his resignation to the Verkhovna Rada.

"I have submitted my letter of resignation to Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chairman of the Parliament of Ukraine. It was an honor to serve the Ukrainian people and work for the Ukrainian army for the last 22 months, the toughest period of Ukraine’s modern history," he wrote.

Reznikov's statement was later confirmed by the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk on Facebook.

"The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has received a statement from Oleksii Reznikov on his resignation from the post of Minister of Defense of Ukraine," he wrote.

According to Stefanchuk, the application will be considered at the next plenary session.

The Reznikov scandal: what is known

On August 10, the Defense Ministry had allegedly signed a contract with a Turkish company in the fall of 2022 to supply winter clothing for the military. In fact, "camouflage jackets" were sent to Ukraine, which were re-registered as "winter air protection jackets" on the way, which are almost three times more expensive.

On August 25, it was reported that one of the owners of the Turkish company that received USD 30 million for the scandalous purchase of lightweight jackets for the Ukrainian military under the guise of winter jackets was the nephew of a member of the Servant of the People faction.

Amid accusations of purchasing and supplying summer jackets instead of winter ones, Reznikov offered a bet to the MP and a journalist. They responded.

On August 26, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that the Defense Ministry had purchased 180,000 winter jackets, which were handed over to the Armed Forces last year.

According to MP Zhelezniak, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov will resign from his post and become ambassador to the UK. His place may be taken by the head of the State Property Fund, Rustem Umerov.

Instead, on September 3, he commented on the information about his possible resignation as Ukraine's defense minister and appointment as ambassador to the United Kingdom.

On Sunday, September 3, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the dismissal of Oleksii Reznikov. According to him, the Ministry of Defense needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society as a whole.

Rustem Umerov is likely to become the new head of the Defense Ministry.