Defence Minister submits his resignation. State Property Fund Head is preparing to replace him

Oleksii Reznikov has submitted his letter of resignation from the position of Minister of Defence of Ukraine to the Verkhovna Rada (the parliament) and has expressed his readiness to make a report. Rustem Umerov, who is to be appointed as Reznikov's replacement, has submitted a letter to parliament resigning from his post as head of the State Property Fund (SPF).

Source: Oleksii Reznikov on Facebook; Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine

Quote from Reznikov: "Pursuant to the decision by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, [I] have submitted a letter of resignation to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. I am ready for my report. Let's keep the line!"

Details: In his statement, Reznikov stated that over 50% of the territories occupied by Russia have been liberated in 550 days of full-scale war.

Reznikov says he has fulfilled the key tasks assigned to him during his 22 months as Minister of Defence.

Among his achievements, the minister named obtaining weapons from partners and rapprochement with NATO, carrying out "reforms in the sphere of procurement", and implementing "automated systems of military management".

Reznikov's resignation follows a series of scandals surrounding state procurement for the military, including eggs and jackets. Reznikov denies that purchases were made at inflated prices.

Rustem Umerov, who is currently the head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine, is planned to be appointed to the post of Defence Minister instead of Reznikov already this week.

The Verkhovna Rada has already received a letter of resignation from Rustem Umerov, who has resigned from the post of head of the State Property Fund. The application will be considered at the next plenary session, said Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk.

Background:

• On 10 August, Ukrainska Pravda, citing sources, reported that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was looking for a replacement for Oleksii Reznikov as Ukraine’s Minister of Defence and that there were at least two candidates.
• On 19 August, Oleksii Reznikov said that his position as minister was a "temporary story" and that he could resign at his own discretion.
• On 28 August, Reznikov said that he and the president had discussed the possibility of appointing him to another position, but the decision had to be made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy himself.
• On 31 August, Ukrainska Pravda wrote that Reznikov would be removed from his post in the near future, and that the head of the State Property Fund, Rustem Umerov, could take over as Minister of Defence.
• On 3 September, Zelenskyy said he would replace the Defence Minister because the Ministry of Defence "needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society as a whole".

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