secret service agent as successor
Kyiv is to replace Defense Minister Resnikov
02/05/2023 10:12 p.m
The scandal surrounding the purchase of overpriced food for the army has wide circles in the Ukrainian government. Deputy ministers, governors and high officials have already had to resign. According to a member of parliament, the incumbent defense minister is now also to be replaced.
The head of the Ukrainian military intelligence service, Kyrylo Budanov, will become the new defense minister, according to a deputy. The 37-year-old Budanov will replace the previous department head Oleksiy Resnikov, said David Arachamia in the evening. This decision was “absolutely logical in times of war”. He did not say when the replacement would take place. Resnikov, 56, will become Minister for Strategic Industries.
Reznikov had come under criticism after a series of scandals and affairs in the Defense Ministry. 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.