Ukraine war
Selenskyj changes defense minister
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov has to go. photo
© Boris Roessler/dpa
In the middle of the war, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy dismisses his Defense Minister Resnikov. He’s making a fresh start.
Reznikov has spent 550 days in the post of minister since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression. “I believe that the ministry needs new approaches and different formats of cooperation with the soldiers and society as a whole,” said Zelenskyy.
Detachment came as no surprise
The Ukrainian media had reported in the past – and increasingly so in the past few days – that the 57-year-old Resnikov’s replacement was imminent. Resnikov had recently repeatedly stated that he was ready to go, but that a replacement had to be found for him. Reznikov said that he talked to Zelenskyy about another post.
Resnikov had previously said in an interview that he expected the use of the F16 fighter jets against the Russian war of aggression in the coming spring, as promised by western allies. The minister told the Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform that in addition to the training of pilots on the fighter jets in the country, the infrastructure and experts and systems for maintenance must also be available. It will therefore be spring before the machines are actually used at the front.
The Netherlands, Denmark and Norway had pledged F-16 supplies to Ukraine. Reznikov also said he had to write several letters with assurances that these NATO weapons would not be used against Russian territory. On the other hand, Russia had warned that the use of Western warplanes would contribute to the further escalation of violence in the war.
So far, the country has been assured of more than 50 aircraft, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently demanded a total of 160 F-16s, with which the country wants to regain sovereignty over its airspace. Several countries are involved in training Ukrainian pilots.