On 5 September, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) approved the appointment of Rustem Umerov as the country’s new defense minister, UNIAN reports.

338 MPs backed Umerov’s appointment, one abstained, none voted against it, and 21 lawmakers did not participate in the voting.

Umerov replaces Oleksii Reznikov, who served as the minister of defense since November 2021, months before Russia’s full-scale invasion started, but had to resign due to army procurement scandals in the media. The Rada dismissed him from the post on 5 September.

Rustem Umerov, a Crimean Tatar, was chief of the State Property Fund until 5 September, when the Parliament dismissed him from this post.

Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced his intentions to replace the defense minister. He also said that the then-head of the State Property Fund, Rustem Umerov, might replace Oleksii Reznikov.

Read also:

• Why Ukraine’s defense minister Reznikov resigned and who is tapped to replace him
• Ukrainian Parliament dismisses Defense Minister Reznikov from office
• Zelenskyy announces replacement of Ukraine’s Defense Minister, Reznikov resigns