The Ukrainian President is apparently planning a reshuffle in the cabinet: as reported by his faction leader, Defense Minister Resnikov is moving to another post. Instead of the lawyer, a man from the military should take over the department. He already mentions a name.
Ahead of an expected Russian spring offensive and amid the fight against corruption, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is reportedly changing the defense minister. The head of the military intelligence service, Kyrylo Budanov, will replace Oleksiy Reznikov at the head of the ministry, said MP Davyd Arakhamiya, who is Zelenskyi’s confidante. Resnikov, 56, will become Minister for Strategic Industries. Arachamija left open when the change should take place.
“The war dictates a change in personnel policy,” said Arakhamiya, who heads the faction of Zelenskyi’s Servant of the People party. “At this stage, security agencies should be led by professional security officers, not politicians,” Arachamija wrote on Telegram. While Resnikov is a lawyer, the 37-year-old Budanov can look back on a stellar military career. Reznikov took office in November 2021, a few months before the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.
After a series of scandals and affairs in the Ministry of Defense, he had come under criticism. As a result of an alleged corruption scandal in the Ukrainian army, several deputy ministers, governors and high-ranking officials had resigned or been fired since the affair became known in January. Among other things, his deputy Vyacheslav Shapovalov recently resigned in connection with the scandal surrounding the purchase of overpriced food for soldiers. In addition, according to media reports, funds were embezzled in another area of ??the authority during the construction of barracks.
Resnikov had initially rejected the reports. This Sunday he then announced an “internal review” in his ministry. He himself has an “absolutely clear conscience”. Regarding the speculation about his possible replacement, he said: “It is one person – the commander-in-chief, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – who decides whether I will be defense minister or not”.
The aim of the critical media reports was apparently to “undermine trust in the Ministry of Defense at a very important point in time,” he explained. Ukraine has been repelling a Russian invasion for almost a year. The financing of military spending depends to a large extent on Western funds. The Eastern European country is considered one of the most corrupt countries in Europe.
