Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday he had decided to replace his defence minister, setting the stage for the biggest shake-up of Ukraine’s defence establishment since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February, 2022.
In his nightly video address to the nation, Zelenskiy said he would dismiss Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov and would ask parliament this week to replace him with Rustem Umerov, head of the country’s main privatisation fund.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov shows a military uniform during a news conference, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 28th August, 2023. PICTURE: Reuters/Gleb Garanich/File photo.
RUSSIAN DRONE ATTACK HITS DANUBE PORT INFRASTRUCTURE – UKRAINE
Russian drones hit Danube River port infrastructure that is critical to Ukraine’s grain exports, injuring at least two people in the attack on southern parts of the Odesa region on Sunday, Ukrainian officials said.
The Danube has become Ukraine’s main route for exporting grain since July, when Russia quit a UN and Turkey-brokered deal that had given safe passage to Kyiv’s exports of grains, oilseeds and vegetables oils via the Black Sea.
A firefighter works at a site which was hit during Russia’s drone attacks in Odesa region, Ukraine, on 3rd September, 2023. PICTURE: Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Odesa region/Handout via Reuters
Sunday’s attack took place the day before Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan are due to hold talks in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi. Turkey has been pressing to revive the grain deal.
Ukraine’s South Military Command said on social media that at least two civilians were injured in the early morning attack on what it called “civil infrastructure of the Danube”.
The Ukrainian Air Force said air defence systems shot down 22 of the 25 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia.
Officials did not give details of which port facility was hit but some Ukrainian media reported blasts in the Reni port, which along with Izmail is one of Ukraine’s two major ports on the Danube. The military said a fire that resulted from the attack at the facility was quickly extinguished.
The Russian Defence Ministry was quoted by Interfax as saying that a group of Russian drones successfully struck fuel depots at the Reni port used by the Ukrainian military.
Reuters could not independently verify the reports.
Reni and Izmail have been repeatedly attacked by Russian drones in recent weeks.
“Russian terrorists continue to attack port infrastructure in the hope of provoking a food crisis and famine in the world,” the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram.
He posted a photo of a firefighter directing water at the burning ruins of concrete structures.
The Black Sea grain deal, reached in July 2022, aimed to alleviate a global food crisis. Ukraine is a major producer of grains and oilseeds and the interruption to its exports after the outbreak of war in February last year pushed global food prices to record highs.
Russia has complained that under the deal its own food and fertiliser exports faced obstacles and that not enough Ukrainian grain was going to countries in need.
– LIDIA KELLY and PAVEL POLITYUK/Reuters
Reznikov, defence minister since November 2021, has helped secure billions of dollars of Western military aid to help the war effort, but has been dogged by graft allegations surrounding his ministry that he has described as smears.
The decision comes amid a crackdown on corruption in Ukraine that Zelenskiy has been keen to emphasize. Kyiv has applied to join the European Union and the public has become highly sensitive to corruption as the war rages with no end in sight.
“I’ve decided to replace the Minister of Defence of Ukraine. Oleksii Reznikov has been through more than 550 days of full-scale war,” Zelenskiy said.
“I believe the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society as a whole.”
Zelenskiy said he expected parliament to approve Umerov’s appointment, adding that Umerov “does not need any additional introduction.” Zelenskiy has to submit Umerov’s candidacy to parliament for review.
A 41-year-old ex-lawmaker and Crimean Tatar, Umerov has headed Ukraine’s State Property Fund since September, 2022, and played a role in sensitive wartime negotiations on, for instance, the Black Sea grain deal.
He has been praised in Ukraine for his track record at the State Property Fund, which oversees the privatisation of state assets and had been embroiled in corruption scandals before he took charge.
Rapport with the West
During the war, Reznikov’s defence ministry lobbied the West to overcome various taboos on supplying powerful military kit to Ukraine, including everything from German-made main battle tanks to HIMARS multiple-launch rockets. Kyiv now looks poised to receive US-made F-16 fighter jets soon.
Western military aid has played a crucial role in the war, as Ukraine first forced back Russian troops around the capital Kyiv before launching counteroffensives in the northeast and south.
Its troops are now fighting through heavily-mined areas and Russian defensive lines to try to recapture territory in the southeast and east.
An English-speaker, Reznikov is seen as having built up a strong rapport with allied defence ministers and military officials.
One member of parliament has tipped him as Ukraine’s possible new ambassador to London.
His apparent exit appears to bring an end to months of domestic media pressure that began in January when Reznikov’s ministry was accused of buying food at inflated prices.
Though he was not personally involved in the food contract, some Ukrainian commentators said he should take political responsibility for what happened.
Last month, a Ukrainian media outlet accused his ministry of corruption during the procurement of winter coats for the army. Reznikov denied any wrongdoing and repeatedly said he was being targeted by a smear campaign.
