There will be no dismissals or appointments at the Defense Ministry this week, David Arakhamia, head of the Servant of the People party's faction in parliament, said in a Telegram post on Feb. 6.
Arakhamia was referring to Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov's expected resignation and his replacement with military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov.
He said, however, that parliament is expected to appoint the interior minister and the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
The previous interior minister, Denys Monastyrsky, was killed in a helicopter crash on Jan. 18, and Ihor Klymenko, head of the National Police, became the acting interior minister. Vasyl Malyuk has been the acting head of the SBU since the previous head of the agency, Ivan Bakanov, resigned in July 2022.
Arakhamia said on Feb. 5 that Reznikov would be replaced as defense minister by Budanov.
He added that Reznikov would remain in the government as the minister for strategic industries, overseeing Ukraine’s defense sector, which the lawmaker described as a “logical” decision given his participation in Ramstein meetings and expertise.
Arakhamia did not mention who would be replacing Budanov as the head of military intelligence.
Reznikov, who was appointed in November 2021, has said he was ready to resign if President Volodymyr Zelensky made such a decision.
Speculation about Reznikov's resignation followed a major corruption scandal at the Defense Ministry.
Ukrainian newspaper ZN.UA released a report on Jan. 21 that the Defense Ministry was purchasing some food for the military at prices that are two to three times higher than those at Kyiv grocery stores.
Reznikov called the report false and asked the Security Service of Ukraine to look into the people involved in spreading the information.
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