Ukrainian cabinet fires all Deputy Defense Ministers: Lawmaker
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All Deputy Defense Ministers and the ministry’s secretary of state have all been fired, according to lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenko.
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Ukraine lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenko. (SnapGrab/SocialMedia)
The Ukrainian cabinet of ministers has dismissed all deputy defense ministers, including Hanna Maliar, who previously reported the supposed capture of Andriivka in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) by Ukrainian military forces, according to lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenko on Monday.
Maliar attributed her unverified statement about Ukrainian troops gaining control of Andriivka in the DPR last week to a communication error.
"The cabinet of ministers has just fired all the deputy ministers of defense and the ministry’s secretary of state. Maliar was also fired," Goncharenko wrote on Telegram.
This comes after President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov had been sacked from his position on September 3.
Zelensky had announced that Reznikov would be replaced as he believes the ministry "needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society as a whole."
"Oleksii Reznikov has gone through more than 550 days of a full-scale war. I believe that the [defense] ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society in general. Rustem Umerov is set to head the ministry now ... I expect the parliament to support this candidacy," the Ukrainian President explained.
Since last month, Ukraine's parliament has been discussing the decision to have Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov exit with the website citing unnamed officials in the cabinet and parliament.
When asked by reporters about his potential resignation in light of corruption scandals, Reznikov said that the decision remains in the hands of President Volodymyr Zelensky, adding that he discussed transferring to another position with Zelensky.
A few months back, on the 500th day since the start of the Ukraine war, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar officially acknowledged Kiev's responsibility for last year's bombing that targeted the Crimean Bridge in October, the Business Insider news website reported.
On Telegram, Maliar said that the Crimean Bridge, also known as the Kerch Strait Bridge, was bombed to obstruct Russia's supply lines.
The Ukrainian official said that July 8th marked 273 days since what she called the "first strike" on the bridge, which was carried out to break the logistics of the Russians.
Although Ukrainian officials have previously not claimed responsibility for the bombing that killed four people and was deemed by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a terrorist attack, they have hinted at it.
