The substitution of Minister of Defense Ukrainian, announced in the last hours as a result of several scandals of corruption, It will not take place this week, several deputies indicated this Monday.
“Pending the appointment of the leaders of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Security Services of Ukraine. Personnel changes in the Defense sector will not take place this week,” MP David Arakhamia, head of the group, said on Telegram. Parliamentarian Servant of the People, of the President Volodymyr Zelensky.
On Sunday night, Arakhamia announced that the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrilo Budanov will replace Oleksii Reznikov as Defense Minister.
Neither President Zelenski nor Reznikov nor Budanov confirmed the ministerial readjustment.
Another Ukrainian deputy from the president’s party, Mariana Bezugla, said on Facebook that the readjustment was “suspended until the end of the week” while the government “evaluates the risks” posed by that change, taking into account the increasing pressure from the Russian military in the East of the country.
According to Arakhamia, Reznikov, 56, will be appointed minister of Strategic Industries.
However, Reznikov stated that he had not been informed of this future appointment, in an interview published on the website of local television ICTV.
Reznikov had been appointed defense minister in November 2021, and helped win Western military support to strengthen the Ukrainian armed forces after the invasion by Russian troops, which began in February 2022. However, his ministry has recently been embroiled in corruption scandals.
Deputy Defense Minister Viacheslav Shapovalov, in charge of logistical support for the armed forces, was forced to resign in late January after the ministry was accused of signing inflated food supply contracts for the troops.