Medical and Hospital News
MILPLEX
Zelensky to replace defence minister after corruption scandals
Zelensky to replace defence minister after corruption scandals
By Ania TSOUKANOVA with Linda ABI ASSI in Bakhmut
Kyiv, Ukraine (AFP) Feb 5, 2023

Ukraine's defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov will be replaced by the chief of the military intelligence ahead of an expected Russian offensive and following corruption scandals, a senior lawmaker said Sunday.

"We are preparing decisions and negotiations that should strengthen our soldiers, give Ukraine more international support and more weapons," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address without elaborating.

Zelensky said this week he wanted talks on Ukraine's membership in the EU to begin this year, stepping up the fight against corruption.

A senior lawmaker close to Zelensky said later Sunday that 56-year-old Reznikov, one of the best-known faces of the country's war effort, would be replaced.

"Kyrylo Budanov will head the defence ministry, which is absolutely logical in wartime," said lawmaker David Arakhamia, referring to the 37-year-old chief of the military intelligence.

Holding the rank of major general, Budanov has headed the military intelligence since August, 2020.

- 'War dictates policies' -

Reznikov will be appointed minister for strategic industries, said Arakhamia.

"War dictates personnel policies. Time and circumstances require reinforcement and regrouping," he added.

"The enemy is preparing to advance. We are preparing to defend ourselves."

Reznikov was appointed defence minister in November, 2021 and has helped secure Western weapons to buttress Ukrainian forces. But his ministry has been beset by corruption scandals.

Reznikov's deputy was forced to resign in late January after the ministry was accused of signing food contracts at prices two to three times higher than current rates for basic foodstuffs.

Speaking to reporters earlier Sunday, Reznikov did not say if he planned to stay on at the ministry, but that only President Zelensky could decide his fate.

"The stress that I have endured this year is hard to measure precisely. I am not ashamed of anything," Reznikov said. "My conscience is absolutely clear."

An internal audit of procurement procedures was under way at the defence ministry, he said.

He added that the ministry's own anti-corruption department had "failed" to do its job and needed to be "completely rebooted".

With graft a key European concern, Ukraine's government has stepped up work to clean up its act, launching high-profile raids this week targeting an oligarch with political connections, and a former interior minister.

Speaking to reporters, Reznikov also urged the West to send warplanes, after Germany and the United States finally agreed to supply heavy tanks following weeks of deliberations.

"I am sure that we will win this war," Reznikov said, but without Western jets, "it will cost us more lives".

- Fresh fighting in Bakhmut -

In eastern Ukraine, heavy fighting was underway in the northern parts of the frontline hotspot Bakhmut. Russia has claimed gains in recent days around the war-ravaged city in the region of Donetsk.

"In the northern quarters of Artemovsk, fierce battles are going on for every street, every house, every stairwell," the head of Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said in a statement, referring to Bakhmut by its previous name.

"The Ukrainian armed forces are fighting to the last," he said.

Russian forces have been trying to capture Bakhmut in the eastern region of Donetsk for months, in what has become the longest and bloodiest battle since Russia invaded Ukraine last February.

In Bakhmut Sunday, about 20 people, including two soldiers, attended a mass in the basement of the golden-domed All Saints' church.

Three women sang hymns, punctuated by sounds of mortar shells in the background. The room was lit by two dozen candles and a portable light used by the two priests to read from the bible.

"Today I prayed that everything will be better for me after I die," said 20-year-old Serafim Chernyshov, standing outside the church.

"I came to pray for peace," added Lyubov Avramenko, 84.

Zelensky said on Friday that Kyiv's troops would fight for Bakhmut "as long as we can."

The British defence ministry said Sunday that over the past week, Russia had made "small advances" in its attempt to encircle Bakhmut.

- Missile strikes in Kharkiv -

For months Moscow has targeted Ukraine's civilian infrastructure, including the energy grid, leaving millions in the dark and cold in the middle of winter.

In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, a missile strike on a residential building Sunday wounded four people, a local official said. Another strike that hit a university wounded a security guard.

Around 280,000 households in the southern city of Odesa were still without power following Saturday's accident at an electrical substation, already damaged by Russian strikes, said Prime Minister Denys Shmygal.

As a result, schools will be closed in the city on Monday and Tuesday, officials said.

Related Links
The Military Industrial Complex at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
MILPLEX
Ukraine defence chief says audit underway after corruption scandals
Kyiv, Ukraine (AFP) Feb 5, 2023
Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said Sunday that an audit of procurement contracts was underway after corruption scandals but declined to confirm reports that he could soon be forced to resign. "We have started an internal audit" of all procurement contracts, Reznikov told reporters, but declined to say if he would stay on as defence minister. "It is one person - the commander-in-chief, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky - who decides whether I will be defence minister or not," ... read more

MILPLEX
World powers rush to offer Turkey, Syria aid over quake

Biden 'deeply saddened' by Turkey, Syria quake; pledges US aid

Syria says quake aid will reach all its people

Sixteen killed in China highway pile-up

MILPLEX
New Galileo service set to deliver 20 cm accuracy

HawkEye 360 to monitor GPS interference in support of the US Space Force

Falcon 9 launches sixth GPS 3 satellite

Quectel expands its 5G and GNSS Combo Antennas Portfolio

MILPLEX
The chemistry of mummification - Traces of a global network

Brazilian army deploys to protect Indigenous Yanomami

Superhighways of first Australians reveals a 10,000-year journey through the continent

Earliest evidence found of Neanderthals killing elephants for food

MILPLEX
Tropical French territory battles green monkey invasion

South Africa rhino poachers spread from national parks

Sumatran tiger captured in Indonesia after second human attack

After miraculous comeback, damselfly in distress again

MILPLEX
China to fully reopen borders with Hong Kong, Macau

African nations commit to ending AIDS in children by 2030

Beijing has hit 'temporary herd immunity': official

The Covid-19 pandemic in 10 figures

MILPLEX
Hong Kong's largest national security trial to begin with 47 in dock

UN experts alarmed at child 'forced assimilation' in Tibet

Hong Kong's largest national security trial to begin with 47 in dock

China's mega-rich move their wealth, and partying, to Singapore

MILPLEX
US designates Russia's Wagner military group an intl 'criminal organization'

UN alarmed at disappearance of two Mexican activists

Latin American cocaine cartels bring violence to Europe

Global piracy acts drop to 14-year low: report

MILPLEX
Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.