Ukraine’s defence minister submits resignation to Zelensky after biggest shake-up since invasion

Ukraine’s outgoing defence minister Oleksii Reznikov has turned in his resignation and said he was honoured to have served the war-hit country in its toughest modern-day history.

From appearing next to president Volodymyr Zelensky in a viral video shot in Kyiv just hours into the Ukraine invasion last year to carrying out deals for military aid with dozens of Western allies, the lawyer-turned-politician had played a critical role in aiding the country against Russia’s continuing full-scale invasion.

On Sunday, Mr Zelensky announced Mr Reznikov’s removal as he believed “the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society as a whole”.

“I have submitted my letter of resignation to Ruslan Stefanchuk @r_stefanchuk, Chairman of the Parliament of Ukraine @verkhovna_rada. It was an honour to serve the Ukrainian people and work for the #UAarmy for the last 22 months, the toughest period of Ukraine’s modern history,” Mr Reznikov said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday.

“Over 50 per cent of the temporarily occupied territories by Russia have already been liberated. Every day our defenders are moving forward,” the 57-year-old leader, tipped to possibly be Ukraine’s next ambassador to the UK, said in his resignation letter.

“There is an understanding that Ukraine is a shield of Europe in the east,” he said, adding that one of his biggest priorities for Kyiv was long-term partnerships with allies and finalising “real security guarantees”.

Mr Reznikov also shared on X a photo of himself smiling and holding his resignation letter.

He cited the provision of modern tanks, air defence anti-missile systems, long-range missiles, armoured vehicles, artillery, the Multiple Launch Rocket System among other types of modern-style weapons procured during his ministership, and lauded the besieged country’s fierce wartime resistance against Russian forces.

The minister’s tenure saw heavy lobbying efforts to secure vital military aid from the West.

In recent months, however, Mr Zelensky pushed for greater reforms to tackle corruption in the country. The defence ministry, under Mr Reznikov’s handling, faced graft allegations of buying food at inflated prices.

The allegations, that had emerged in January this year, sparked speculation of Mr Reznikov’s tenure being cut short.

He has described the charges against him and his ministry as a smear attack.

While Mr Reznikov is not alleged to have signed a December contract worth some 13bn hryvnias (£290m), he is viewed as ultimately responsible for the department and previously emphasised his own zero-tolerance approach to corruption.

Mr Reznikov, who was appointed defence chief in November 2021, told reporters in February that his department had begun an internal audit of all procurement contracts and said his ministry’s anti-corruption department needed to be overhauled and had failed to perform its role properly.

Mr Zelensky has proposed the name of Crimean Tatar Rustem Umerov, currently the head of Ukraine’s main privatisation agency, as a replacement candidate as defence minister, subject to the parliament’s approval.