Zelenskyy unlikely to send Reznikov to London as ambassador

Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine's former Minister of Defence, is unlikely to be appointed its ambassador in the UK.

Source: journalists of Ukrainska Pravda Roman Kravets and Roman Romaniuk with reference to their sources in the UP-2 podcast

Details: The journalists report that the UK embassy did not receive any official request from Ukraine concerning appointing Reznikov as an ambassador.

Several Ukrainian officials revealed that there will be no such appointment.

One of the top representatives of the Ukrainian government explained that now is a wrong time to appoint Reznikov as the elections are underway in the UK, and the current ruling party and the opposition may use it for discussion for their political goals.

Even though there is no information that Reznikov himself was involved in corruption schemes, and he was not accused of anything, the very context of his dismissal is corrupt, so in the UK media, Reznikov’s name as an ambassador would be tied to corruption scandals.

So there are doubts whether he would be appointed.    

Reznikov himself, while still in the office of the Defence Minister, said he was not going to take any other offices but he could consider such propositions. Now he is allegedly expecting to stay in Ukraine, as people from his inner circle state.

Ukrainska Pravda writes that the government so far has no candidates for the office of Ukrainian ambassador in the UK, even though this country is a very important ally and a "driver" of the aid for Ukraine.

Background:

• On 5 September, the Verkhovna Rada accepted Oleksii Reznikov’s resignation as Defence Minister, and on 6 September, it appointed Rustem Umierov, the former head of the State Property Fund, to replace him.
• Ukrainska Pravda reported that after his dismissal and amid the scandals concerning state procurement for the Ukrainian army, Oleksii Reznikov may be appointed as the Ukrainian ambassador to the UK.
• On 21 July, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Vadym Prystaiko from the office of the Ukrainian Ambassador in the UK who called the words of Zelenskyy, that he could thank Ben Wallace, Minister of Defence of the UK, every morning, "unhealthy sarcasm".

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