Ukrainian defense minister submits resignation letter

Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Monday that he has submitted a letter of resignation to Parliament Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk.

“It was an honour to serve the Ukrainian people and work for the Ukrainian army for the last 22 months, the toughest period of Ukraine’s modern history,” Reznikov said on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter.

In the letter, Reznikov, who was appointed defence minister in November 2021, said that all the key tasks set for his mandate have been accomplished.

On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he plans to dismiss Reznikov and ask parliament this week to confirm Rustem Umerov, head of the country’s main privatisation fund, as his replacement.

“I believe the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society as a whole,” Zelensky said.

The parliament is set to vote on the appointment later this week.