(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Ukraine’s descent into a quagmire of corruption reached new depths as President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the abrupt firing of Defense Minister Olesksii Reznikov
This startling move, coming in the wake of relentless allegations of graft and incompetence within the Ukrainian government, has raised serious concerns about the state of affairs in the country. Notably, Reznikov was scheduled to meet with the Pentagon later this week.
Zelensky attempted to portray the ousting of Reznikov as a mere restructuring effort. Critics, however, had demanded Reznikov’s firing since January, with many pointing fingers at his alleged involvement in the corruption scandals that have corroded the military’s spending.
“Oleksii Reznikov has gone through more than 550 days of full-scale war,” Zelensky said on Sunday night, according to the New York Times. “I believe that the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society at large.”
Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, met last week with Ukrainian officials to discuss the allegations of corruption. As reported by the Times, the defense minister’s firing caught the Biden regime by surprise as they had scheduled to meet the disgraced minister later this week.
Specifically, the Times reported, “As of Friday, Mr. Reznikov was scheduled to visit the Pentagon later this week to meet with Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III. The two men had regular contact and spoke ‘relatively frequently,’ according to a U.S. official who spoke on background as the news was breaking on Sunday.”
Ukraine’s prosecutors have been painstakingly investigating allegations of war profiteering, with disturbing revelations about inflated prices for military rations taking center stage. This scandal has exposed a shocking pattern of profligate spending and fiscal recklessness within the defense ministry.
The Times reported on Sunday that the defense ministry failed to fulfill contracts worth nearly $986 million, leaving Ukraine vulnerable as it faces a counteroffensive in the south and east of the country.
Similarly, the head of the Supreme Court was arrested in a bribery investigation earlier this year. An ousted deputy minister of economy faced a bail of $25,000 for allegedly embezzling foreign aid. Zelensky also fired his top intelligence officer and the state prosecutor
