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The late-night announcement of a planned replacement of Ukraine's defence minister has raised eyebrows in wartime Kyiv as the country gears up for an anticipated Russian offensive in the east. On Sunday night, a senior lawmaker close to President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov would be replaced by the head of the military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, in the highest-profile government shuffle since the start of the Russian invasion last February. The surprise announcement followed a series of corruption scandals in the government but David Arakhamia, chief of the parliamentary bloc of Zelensky's party, did not accuse Reznikov...

KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine sowed confusion on Monday about whether its defence minister would be replaced, creating doubts about the leadership of its war effort just as it braces for an expected Russian offensive.The questions over Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov were the first public sign of serious disarray in Ukraine's wartime leadership.A day after announcing that Reznikov would be sidelined, a top ally of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appeared to row back, saying no changes would be made this week.David Arakhamia, chief of the parliamentary bloc of Zelenskiy's party, had said the 37-year-old head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, would replace Reznikov,...

Ukraine's military intelligence chief will replace Oleksiy Reznikov as defense minister in one of the highest profile changes to the country's leadership since Russia invaded one year ago, officials said on Sunday. The reshuffling comes amid a corruption scandal that swept through the upper echelons of Ukraine's government last month. Several top officials, including Deputy Defense Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov and Deputy Prosecutor General Oleksiy Symonenko, resigned in late January amid accusations that inflated prices were paid for the army's food supplies. The defense ministry has denied the accusations of corruption and said the resignations were done to ensure the public's...

Ukraine is set to replace Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov amid a series of corruption scandals, and ahead of an expected Russian offensive, according to a top Ukrainian lawmaker. “War dictates personnel policy. Time and circumstances call for strengthening and regrouping. This is happening now and will continue to happen in the future,” wrote the Ukrainian Parliament’s majority leader David Arakhamia on Telegram.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov will likely be dismissed from his ministerial post next week, Ukrainian news outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported on Feb. 5, citing government and military sources.According to the sources, the likely replacement for Reznikov is understood to be Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's military intelligence agency HUR. In a soon-to-be-published interview with Ukrainska Pravda, Reznikov reportedly denied any knowledge of an imminent dismissal.“I have not had any conversations about my resignation from this position,” he reportedly said.A government source confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that Reznikov was likely to be replaced in the very near future.