Ukraine: Mr. David Arakhamia, chief of the Ukranian President’s Servant of the People parliamentary bloc, has announced that the country’s Defence Minister, under pressure from a corruption scandal, will be removed from his position as Russian forces close in on Bakhmut amid heavy fighting.

The position of Mr. Oleksii Reznikov, one of Ukraine’s better-known figures internationally, has been under threat after it emerged the defence ministry paid twice or three times the supermarket price of food to supply troops on the frontline.

Mr. Arakhamia stated that the defence ministry would be headed up by Mr, Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s military intelligence.

Mr. Arakhamia added that Mr. Reznikov would become minister of strategic industries, tasked with strengthening military-industrial cooperation, while commenting on the Defence Minister’s future in Kyiv.

“War dictates changes in personnel policy. Times and circumstances require strengthening and regrouping. This is what is happening now and what will happen in the future,” the senior lawmaker further commented.

In a recent press conference, Mr. Reznikov suggested that his tenure as Defence Minister may not last much longer.

“No one is in the chair for his whole life,” Mr. Reznikov then shared amid speculation that he would be forced to resign or be reshuffled, and stressed that his position as defence minister “was up to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine in accordance with the constitution.”

There was no immediate statement from Mr. Zelenskiy on replacing the Defence Minister.

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