Ukraine dismisses six deputy defence ministers in reshuffle at ministry

KYIV, Sept 18 (Reuters) – The Ukrainian government decided to dismiss six deputy defence ministers on Monday following the appointment of a new defence minister earlier this month.

The government gave no reason for the dismissals. Those removed from their post included Hanna Maliar, who has frequently issued public updates on Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Rustem Umerov was appointed defence minister less than two weeks ago to replace Oleksii Reznikov. The ministry had been dogged by media allegations of corruption while Reznikov was in the post although he faced no corruption allegations himself.

“Rebooting. We (have) started. We continue. (The) Ministry continues to work as usual,” Umerov said in a Facebook post.

When he took up his post, Umerov said his priorities would include making the ministry the main institution for the coordination of defence forces, enhancing the value attached to individual soldiers, developing Ukraine’s military industry and fighting corruption.

Maliar, a war crimes lawyer, had served as a deputy defence minister since 2021 and her latest update on the war in Ukraine appeared on Monday morning.

She faced criticism last week after initially reporting that Ukrainian forces had recaptured an eastern village from Russian forces, but later saying her report was inaccurate and that fighting was still raging around the village.