The rumor had been circulating for a few days, it is now imminent.
Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov will replace Oleksiy Reznikov as defense minister.
This was announced this Sunday evening by MP David Arakhamia.
Aged 37, "Kyrylo Budanov will lead the Ministry of Defense, which is absolutely logical in times of war," said the MP.
“War dictates the movement of personnel.
The times and circumstances call for reinforcement and concentration.
This is what is happening now and it will continue in the future”, detailed David Arakhamia without specifying the planned date of this cabinet reshuffle.
According to him, Oleksiï Reznikov, 56, will be appointed Minister of Strategic Industries.
The Ministry of Defense in the midst of a scandal
During the day, the current Minister of Defense Oleksiï Reznikov had not completely refuted the hypothesis at a press conference.
“No civil servant is in office forever.
Not one.
I will do what the Head of State suggests to me, ”he replied to questions from journalists.
The statement came after Ukrainian media outlet
Ukrainska Pravda
reported that Reznikov would likely be removed from his ministerial post next week and could be named justice minister.
#Ukraine was carrying out a series of searches and police operations on Wednesday targeting one of the richest Ukrainians, a former minister and administrations for corruption caseshttps://t.co/XguNgjCEsS
- The Parisian (@le_Parisien) February 1, 2023
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense is facing a major corruption scandal linked to the supply of the army, in the midst of the Russian invasion.
Reznikov had also recognized on Sunday that the anti-corruption services of his ministry had "failed in their task" and that they had to be "completely restructured".
An "internal audit of all public contracts" has been launched as well as an "audit of international technical assistance", at a time when kyiv is receiving more and more Western armaments.
