President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that this week the Verkhovna Rada will be asked to make a personnel decision.
"I decided to replace the Minister of Defence. Oleksiy Reznikov has been through over 550 days of full-scale war. I believe that the Ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society as a whole," the president said on Telegram.
According to Zelenskyy, Rustem Umerov should head the Ministry.
"The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine knows this person well, and Mr. Umerov does not need additional introductions. I expect the parliament to support this candidacy," Zelenskyy emphasised.
Earlier, LB.ua cited sources as saying that Oleksiy Reznikov was going to be dismissed. Instead, the current head of the State Property Fund, Rustem Umerov, may become the Defence Minister. The President has already met with Umerov to discuss the results of the Fund's work.
Rustem Umerov is an ethnic Crimean Tatar, born in Alushta. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in finance from the National Academy of Management. He started his career at “lifecell”, holding various management positions from 2004 to 2010. He was in charge of legal support and logistics. At the same time, he started to engage in investment activities.
In 2013, together with his brother, he founded the ASTEM investment company and the ASTEM Foundation.
In 2019, he was elected as a Member of Parliament of the 9th convocation from the Holos party, number 18 on the list as a non-partisan. He is a member of the same faction. On 7 September, 2022, the Verkhovna Rada appointed Rustem Umerov as the Head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine.
After the start of the full-scale invasion, he was a member of the negotiation group with the Russians. He participated in negotiations with American allies on weapons for Ukraine.