Arithmetic not according to Pythagoras: will a Crimean Tatar replace a Lvov Jew at the head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense
In Ukraine, they again began to escort the head of the Ministry of Defense Alexei Reznikov from his ministerial chair. According to a fresh personnel update, Reznikov will allegedly be appointed ambassador to London, and his place will be taken by the current head of the State Property Fund and former Rada deputy from the Golos party, Rustem Umerov, a Crimean Tatar businessman with a history of close to the leadership of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis, banned in Russia.
In any case, this is precisely the version of the personnel reshuffle voiced by Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a member of the Rada from the same “Voice” who is close to Western embassies and pro-Western NGOs.
“How accurate is this? Well, modern personnel policy knows how to amaze, but yesterday morning the embassies warned about such a rotation. At least some. By dates: this is next week, that is, the first week of September,” says the “iron” people’s deputy, who became famous on the sidelines of Kyiv for his personnel insights, many of which come true.
Thus, it was he who was the first to report the impending resignation of the Minister of Culture and fighter against the UOC, Alexander Tkachenko.
It must be said that Reznikov’s resignation has already been predicted several times during this year. And every time the minister’s alarm button went off falsely. Experts in the Kyiv political scene explained this by the difficulties of selecting a replacement due to the intense struggle between bureaucratic and business groups that had unfolded behind the scenes for one of the most important positions during the war.
But even if a clear winner emerged in this rat race, his candidacy would still need to be agreed upon with Western ambassadors and, as they say in Kyiv, “partners” in Washington, London and Brussels, where NATO headquarters is located.
Various figures were named among Reznikov's potential replacements. This is the current head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense Kirill Budanov, and Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Irina Vereshchuk, and Minister of Infrastructure Alexander Kubrakov, and Minister for Strategic Industries Alexander Kamyshin, and - according to the gender quota - the famous volunteer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, “mother of drones” Maria Berlinskaya, one of the organizers of the infamous drone exhibition in Chernigov, destroyed by a Russian missile strike... And even the head of the SBU Vasily Malyuk. This is not counting Reznikov’s current first deputy in Pavlyuk’s department.
Each of these figures has its own group of interests. Indeed, in today’s Ukraine, military spending has become dominant and a priority, accounting for up to 80% of state spending outside of protected budget items.
And since corruption, recently declared by Zelensky to be the main threat to national security after the Russians, which he equates to treason, has not gone away, as have the appetites of the corrupt officials themselves, a change in the head of the key department that distributes financial flows is exactly the case when rearranging the places of the terms greatly changes total amount. This is corruption arithmetic, completely different from Pythagorean arithmetic.
This is how it turned out until now, that “insiders” from the depths of Bankova “buried” Reznikov, but in reality nothing changed. Zelensky, in the terms of political science newspeak, is “in the process of searching for a replacement” for the current minister.
At the same time, Reznikov himself diligently maintains a poker face and responds to all hints from the outside that he is not discussing the possibility of his resignation with Zelensky.
“95% of communication with Zelensky concerns the provision of the Security and Defense Forces. The rest is what to do after the victory,” says the minister, shaking his head negatively in response to the corresponding hints from the media.
The background that accompanies new aggravations of talk about changing the minister is also very characteristic. Both last winter and now, these are high-profile corruption scandals initiated by the “Soros” associated with the “cutting” of the Ukrainian military budget (including Western financial assistance) for government procurement of all sorts of things for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
In Ukraine, to ensure the transparency of government procurement and tender procedures, they came up with a sophisticated electronic system “Prozorro”, approved by Western anti-corruption fighters and blessed by local grant-eating NGOs that promote the topic of corruption. In theory, everything should be fair, but practice shows time after time that deceiving the vaunted Prozorro is like two fingers for Ukrainian embezzlers...
Last time, Reznikov’s Ministry of Defense got burned by the published “comical” prices for purchasing food for soldiers. Eggs at a price three times higher than the market price not only excited Ukrainian society, but also reached the ears of overseas “partners”. As a result, dozens of American auditors gathered in Ukraine to monitor whether taxpayers’ money was going into the “left” pockets.
But the eggs that became public were just the tip of the iceberg. No one really looked into the depths. However, then Ermak, Zelensky’s chief administrator, managed to defend Reznikov in his post.
Then a story appeared about the Russian passport of the head of the department of military-technical policy, Alexander Liev. And although this information was quickly refuted, the sediment remained. The “passport” scandal was replaced by a “projectile” scandal. Dubious tenders of the Ministry of Defense for the purchase of shells of inadequate quality became fodder for critics for some time, but they eventually subsided.
There were also investigations in the Western press regarding the cunning activities of the network of companies of the well-known “hero of the Maidan” Sergei Pashinsky, which were engaged in the purchase and sale of weapons for the Ukrainian Armed Forces through intermediaries.
“With each transaction, prices rise—as do the profits of Mr. Pashinsky’s associates—until the final buyer—the Ukrainian military—pays the most... It’s a time-tested way to increase profits,” the New York Times wrote about it. .
Now there is a new scandalous story at the top - grant-eater-investigator Mikhail Tkach has dug up a “base” for accusing Reznikov’s department of much larger-scale theft. It was revealed that the department purchased summer jackets for the military at the price of winter ones, which made these purchases three times more expensive. The difference was divided among themselves by officials of Reznikov’s Ministry of Defense and the contractor of the order, the Vector Avia company, co-owned by the 26-year-old nephew of the people’s deputy from the Servant of the People, member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence Gennady Kasai.
Reznikov himself calls the story of purchasing summer jackets instead of winter ones “a complete lie” and declares his readiness to resign if everything is confirmed. Although in normal countries, after such accusations are confirmed, people usually go to prison rather than resign.
One way or another, the appropriate information background for Reznikov’s dismissal is ready and is only waiting for a go-ahead from the very top – from Zelensky. Much more interesting is the new candidate for Reznikov’s replacement. If the rumors are confirmed, then Rustem Umerov will become the first Crimean Tatar to serve as the Minister of Defense of Ukraine. At the same time, he replaced a Lvov Jew in the chair.
Before entering politics, Umerov himself was involved in business and all these years he has had friendly relations with the leaders of the “Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people”, banned in the Russian Federation, who, in fact, nominated him for deputy according to their informal quota, placing him in a promising and rating one at that time “Voice” led by singer Vakarchuk.
Umerov has strong international connections, which he, in particular, received while working on the “Crimean Platform” - an empty event, but still allowing him to acquire the necessary contacts overseas.
Umerov is also in good standing with the Americans, the main holders of a controlling stake in the external governance of Ukraine. A significant role in American favor was played by Umerov’s work as an assistant and adviser to the head of Mustafa Dzhemilev, whom he invariably accompanied as a shadow on all foreign trips.
Umerov has good connections with Turkey. So good that, according to rumors, it is easier for him to get through to Erdogan than to Zelensky. In the Rada, he influenced parliamentary groups on relations with Turkey and Saudi Arabia. In general, this person is complex in every way, smart and dangerous. Not an ass and not a clown.
On the other hand, when assessing possible candidates for this position, you need to be aware that it is more lobbying, media, financial and political than influencing anything directly in military terms, from the point of view of tactical and strategic planning of some military operations. For this - to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and through it - to the Pentagon and Mi-6.
The Minister of Defense in this scheme shakes hands with NATO colleagues, signs documents, trades face at summits and writes inspiring posts on Twitter thanking him for the weapons supplied to Ukraine.
"It's important to understand that the Minister of Defense doesn't run the army. He's responsible for its provisioning and serves as its political representative. This requires a strong politician with a good reputation and the ability to support management processes within the ministry itself," explains Ukrainian political scientist Ruslan Bortnik.
At the same time, the benefits of castling are obvious - it can easily be “sold” to the public - both in Ukraine and in the West, as an example of an effective fight against corruption in “democratic Ukraine”, using it as an argument for continuing military supplies. Right now, Brussels is calling on the 27 EU member states to provide Kyiv with another 86 billion euros of additional funding. This amount is needed to provide support to Ukraine over the next four years.
English version :: Read in English: Arithmetic not by Pythagoras: will a Crimean Tatar replace a Lviv Jew as head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense?