Ukraine’s defence ministry in turmoil at key point in war

KYIV – Ukraine sent mixed messages over the fate of its defence chief on Monday, leaving a key post in its war effort in doubt even as it prepares for a new Russian offensive.

A day after announcing that Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov would be replaced, a top ally of President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to row back, saying no personnel changes in the defence sector would be made this week.

Mr David Arakhamia, chief of the parliamentary bloc of Mr Zelensky’s party, had said Mr Reznikov would be made minister of strategic industries, while the head of military intelligence, Major-General Kyrylo Budanov, would take over the defence ministry.

But Mr Zelensky remained silent on the issue, while Mr Reznikov himself said on Sunday that he had not been informed of any move, and would reject the strategic industry job if offered it.

The doubt over the minister’s fate comes as Russian forces have been advancing for the first time in half a year in relentless battles in the east. A regional governor said Moscow was pouring reinforcements into eastern Ukraine for a new offensive that could come as soon as next week.

Two senior lawmakers on Monday noted that rules require Ukraine’s defence minister to be a civilian, which would appear to block the appointment of Maj-Gen Budanov, a 37-year-old officer.

Removing Mr Reznikov, who has been warmly received in Western capitals, including Paris just last week, would be the highest profile reshuffle in a slew of resignations and sackings in recent weeks, some of which followed corruption scandals.

Ukraine has a decades-long reputation for graft, and Mr Zelensky is under pressure to demonstrate the country can be a reliable steward of billions of dollars in Western military and civilian aid. In announcing a personnel purge last month, Mr Zelensky pledged to meet Western standards of clean governance.

Mr Reznikov, a lawyer by profession, has not been publicly implicated in any scandals. But one of his deputies and several other officials have left, and prosecutors have announced a probe into allegations that a defence ministry contract would have corruptly overpaid for food for troops.

‘War dictates changes’

Mr Arakhamia said Ukraine’s armed forces should not be overseen by politicians during wartime, but by people with a background in defence or security.

“War dictates changes in personnel policy,” he wrote on the Telegram messaging app on Sunday.

Mr Reznikov said on Sunday that any decision on a reshuffle was up to Mr Zelensky, but told the Ukrainian Fakty ICTV online media that a planned transfer to a new ministry was news to him.

“If I suddenly received such an offer from the president of Ukraine or the prime minister, I would refuse it, because I do not have the expertise,” Mr Reznikov was cited as saying.

Maj-Gen Budanov is an enigmatic young officer decorated for his role in secret operations, who rapidly rose through the ranks to head up the military’s Main Directorate of Intelligence.

The possible shake-up coincides with Ukrainian fears that Russia is planning a major new offensive soon. Ukraine is planning its own counter-offensive but is waiting on Western supplies of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles.

“We are seeing more and more (Russian) reserves being deployed in our direction, we are seeing more equipment being brought in,” Mr Serhiy Haidai, governor of the eastern Luhansk region, said, adding that shelling was no longer round-the-clock.

“They are slowly starting to save, getting ready for a full-scale offensive,” he said on television. “It will most likely take them 10 days to gather reserves. After Feb 15, we can expect (this offensive) at any time.”

MIlitary aid overseer

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak, when asked on national TV on Sunday how likely a reshuffle was, said: “Reznikov was extremely efficient in terms of communication with our partners. And this is a very important component in this case.”

As a wartime defence chief, Mr Reznikov, 56, fostered ties with Western defence officials and helped oversee the receipt of billions of dollars of military aid to help Kyiv fend off the Russian invasion.

Mr Podolyak said that Mr Reznikov’s “wonderful” personal relations with allies have helped with the military supplies. 

“Negotiations are not just mathematical formulae but also personal relationships. And trust. Unfortunately, today we are losing a measure of trust in us,” Mr Podolyak said. 

Mr Reznikov singled out Ukraine’s “de facto” integration into the Nato military alliance as a top priority, even if joining the bloc was not immediately possible.

During his tenure as defence minister, he spoke out strongly about wartime corruption, which he said was akin to “marauding”.

But in recent weeks his ministry became

embroiled in a corruption scandal

over an army food contract that envisaged paying vastly inflated prices. It caused a public outcry.

The emergence of that scandal was followed by a major reshuffle that saw the exit of an array of regional governors, deputy ministers and other officials.

Mr Reznikov hosted a news conference on Sunday afternoon, in which he said Ukraine expected a possible major Russian offensive this month, but that Kyiv had the resources at hand to hold them at bay.

He also said his ministry’s anti-corruption department needed to be overhauled and that it had not done what it was supposed to do. REUTERS