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00:00 It's the biggest shake-up in Ukraine's leadership since Russia's full-scale invasion.
00:04 Volodymyr Zelensky has decided to dismiss his current defence minister, Alexei Reznikov,
00:09 to replace him with Rustem Umarov, currently the head of Ukraine's main privatisation fund.
00:15 "This week the parliament will have to make a decision.
00:18 I want to outline it now.
00:20 I've decided to replace the minister of defence of Ukraine.
00:23 Alexei Reznikov has gone through more than 550 days of full-scale war.
00:28 I believe that the ministry needs new approaches and other means of interaction with both the
00:32 military and the society at large."
00:35 Reznikov was named defence minister in November 2021 and has helped secure billions of dollars
00:41 in West's military aid to help the war effort.
00:43 But the ministry of defence was hit by a string of allegations of mishandling military contracting
00:49 and corruption this year as its budget ballooned.
00:53 The man Zelensky wants in Reznikov's place, Rustem Umarov, is a 41-year-old former lawmaker
00:59 and Crimean Tatar and has played a major role in sensitive wartime negotiations like the
01:04 Black Sea Grain Deal.
01:06 Parliament still needs to approve the change but support is expected from a majority of
01:10 lawmakers.
01:12 The reshuffle, as seen by many, is a way to give fresh impetus to Ukraine's seemingly
01:16 slow counter-offensive as the war enters its 19th month.
01:20 [BLANK_AUDIO]