Ukraine fires six deputy defense ministers as corruption investigations heat up
Barnini Chakraborty
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Six Ukrainian deputy defense ministers were fired on Monday, two weeks after Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov was removed and a month after President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed 24 regional recruitment officers for their involvement in a widespread draft evasion and corruption scandal.
The housecleaning came as Zelensky prepared for his second visit to the United States, where he will attend the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York on Tuesday. He is expected to continue his campaign to ask for more aid from Western nations as Ukraine continues to tough it out in its nearly two-year war with Russia. Zelensky is expected to meet with President Joe Biden and congressional lawmakers in Washington later in the week.
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The decision to dismiss the Ukrainian deputies was made at a Cabinet meeting, according to what the government posted on the Telegram messaging app on Monday. There was no reason given.
The sacked officials included Hanna Maliar, one of the most prominent and visible government employees. Maliar has been active on social media, providing daily updates on Ukraine’s counteroffensive attack against Russia. Her dismissal came on the same day she posted an update on Telegram.
Maliar, a war crimes lawyer who served as a deputy defense minister since 2021, faced criticism last week after announcing Ukrainian forces had recaptured an eastern village from Russia but almost immediately backtracking after reports surfaced that fighting was continuing. The next day, Ukrainian military officers said they had recaptured the area, though Russia rebutted the claim and said its forces were still very much in control of the village.
State Secretary for Defense Kostiantyn Vashchenko and deputy ministers Vitalii Deyneha and Denys Sharapov were also fired. While no reason was given as to why senior officials were let go, the government has been actively investigating allegations of corruption, including the purchasing of equipment.
There is no word on who will replace the deputy ministers.
Reznikov’s forced resignation two weeks ago was the biggest shake-up in Ukrainian leadership since the start of the war and came when Zelensky said it was time for new leadership. Calls for Reznikov to go had been growing following allegations of financial improprieties in the ministry. There had also been a scandal involving the Defense Ministry’s purchase of military jackets at three times their cost, though Reznikov denied he had anything to do with it.
The government said it started to look into other claims of corruption and launched several investigations, including the mishandling of military contracts. Reznikov was not directly implicated in those.
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Zelensky told Ukraine’s Parliament that Reznikov should be replaced by Rustem Umerov, the chairman of Ukraine’s State Property Fund.
The personnel shake-ups come as Russia claimed on Monday it hit major Ukrainian facilities overnight, hitting depleted uranium ammunition, along with electronic intelligence centers and training facilities for Ukrainian military scouts.