Ukraine’s parliament approves resignation of defense minister

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Ukrainian parliament on Tuesday voted on approving the resignation of Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced his decision to replace him on Sunday.

Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak said on Telegram that Reznikov’s resignation was approved with 327 votes in favor.

Zheleznyak also said that the dismissal of Rustem Umerov, the head of Ukraine’s State Property Fund, was also approved, and that the parliament is waiting for a proposal from Zelenskyy to appoint him as the new defense minister.

A day earlier, Reznikov announced on X that he submitted his resignation to Ruslan Stefanchuk, the head of parliament.

“It was an honor to serve the Ukrainian people and work for the #UAarmy for the last 22 months, the toughest period of Ukraine’s modern history,” he added.

Zelenskyy announced on Sunday that he informed the parliament about his decision to dismiss Reznikov, outlining the need for “new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society at large.”

The Ukrainian president went on to name Umerov as a candidate to replace Reznikov, adding that he expects the parliament to support him.

Reznikov’s dismissal from his post was a subject previously reported by local media earlier this year, but it did not materialize.

The reports came as a number of Ukrainian officials either stepped down or were relieved of their duties after Zelenskyy declared in January that he would reshuffle officials at various levels in ministries and central and local administrative bodies as well as in law enforcement to build “a strong state.”

Analysts say Ukraine has long suffered endemic corruption, but Russia's “special military operation” is said to have overshadowed the government's efforts to stamp out graft.