338 deputies voted for Umarov’s appointment, none against, one abstained, and 21 deputies did not participate in the vote, Zelesniak said in a telegram.
On Sunday, Zelensky announced that Rustem Umerov, the current head of Ukraine’s State Property Fund, would become head of the Defense Ministry. The 41-year-old official, of Crimean Tatar descent, has taken part in key negotiations with Russia in recent months, including: Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea and a prisoner exchange.
Two days later, the Ukrainian parliament accepted Zelensky’s decision and decided to dismiss Oleksiy Reznikov from the post of defense minister.
Corruption is corruption
According to the media, the real reasons for Reznikov’s dismissal were a number of irregularities related to procurement for the armed forces and a corruption scandal related to the granting of false deferments from military service. In the first half of August, Zelensky dismissed the heads of military commissars (military reinforcement commands) in all regions of Ukraine for this reason.
By sacking Minister Reznikov and arresting oligarch leader Ihor Kolomoisky, Ukraine’s president is sending a signal at home and abroad that he is taking the fight against corruption seriously, the Financial Times said in an editorial on Tuesday.
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