As Expected, Ukraine Removes Defense Minister After Corruption Probe – Next Up in Rotation, Another Corrupt Defense Minister
As we noted last week, this was very likely going to happen. Oleksiy Reznikov (pictured below left) has been removed. A corrupt minister is caught stealing and skimming money for his/her own benefit.
The corrupt minister is fired and replaced with another corrupt minister, and then the clock starts ticking until the replacement makes a mistake and gets caught doing the same thing as his predecessor. The corrupt activity in Kyiv is identical to the corrupt activity in Washington DC, because it is created by the same corrupt process. Wash – Rinse – Repeat.
(Via Politico) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced late Sunday that he will replace the country’s defense minister, even as Kyiv’s counteroffensive appears to be gaining ground with its troops pushing into Russian-held territory. [😂]
The departure of Oleksiy Reznikov as defense chief marks the highest-level turnover in Zelenskyy’s inner circle since the start of the war in February 2022. It comes as the Ukrainian government is stepping up efforts to deal aggressively with corruption allegations involving military officials.
In a video message Sunday night, the Ukrainian leader announced that Reznikov would be replaced as defense minister by Rustem Umerov, the head of the country’s State Property Fund.
“Reznikov has gone through more than 550 days of full-scale war,” Zelenskyy said. “I believe the ministry now needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society as a whole.”
There have been rumblings for weeks that Rezniko’s days were numbered. His reputation took several hits earlier this year over a handful of wartime scandals in the Defense Ministry in which officials were accused of profiteering. While Reznikov was never implicated, the revelations were a black eye not only for his ministry, but for him personally.
Zelenskyy called on the country’s parliament to approve the decision as soon as possible.
