Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has nominated Rustem Umerov, a Crimean Tatar, as defense minister, replacing Oleksii Reznikov as Ukraine's counter-offensive enters a decisive phase.
Mr. Umerov will have to deal with a series of documents if the Ukrainian parliament approves his appointment.
The decision to change the position of this minister was made as the situation of Ukraine's relations with its allies and backers entered a new phase. Kyiv is trying to speed up the process of training and deploying F-16 aircraft as well as collecting a series of equipment and weapons from Western allies to help accelerate the progress of the counteroffensive.
In addition, the Defense Ministry is also developing a local weapons production base in cooperation with defense companies from Western countries, which includes a program to develop long-range weapons systems that can be used to target targets inside Russian territory.
The defense minister will be Ukraine’s main interlocutor with Western allies through the Ukrainian Defense Liaison Organization. Mr. Reznikov has established contacts with senior U.S. and European officials through the organization. The organization’s next meeting is scheduled for later this month.
But Mr. Umerov has extensive experience as a negotiator. He was closely involved in prisoner-of-war exchanges and helped devise the Black Sea Grain Initiative. In that role, he repeatedly expressed skepticism about Russia’s ability to live up to the deal. He is now chairman of the National Wealth Fund of Ukraine, which is tasked with attracting investment to Ukraine.
A businessman survives the Gulf War
Mr Zelensky promoted Mr Umerov to the top job in the defense ministry despite not being a member of Mr Zelensky’s party, the Servant of the People. Instead, Mr Umerov represents the liberal Golos party, an opposition party.
A Crimean Tatar, Mr. Umerov was born in Uzbekistan in 1982. As a child, he moved to Crimea as the Soviet Union was disintegrating.
In a 2022 interview with Forbes, he said his personal background had influenced his role with prisoners of war. “I lived through resettlement to my native Crimea. I know what reintegration is, and I know what occupation is. So the human rights declaration is very important to me. For the past eight years I have been involved in exchanges of political prisoners and prisoners of war. I am very interested in that.”
Crimean Tatars have faced discrimination and emigration, largely from Russia, since at least 1783 when Russian Empress Catherine the Great annexed Crimea after retaking the territory from the Ottoman Empire.
Mr. Umerov is a Muslim, and in 2022 he said, “Ukrainian Muslims are fighting for the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine.” His background has also helped him establish ties with Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia after the country facilitated a high-profile prisoner exchange in 2022. He was the Ukrainian official who hosted prisoners of war when they arrived in Saudi Arabia.
In an interview with the Norwegian Center for Humanitarian Dialogue in October 2022, Mr. Umerov spoke about discussions with Mr. Zelensky's presidential office when the first Russian missiles hit Kyiv.
“From that moment on, I was tasked with establishing channels of dialogue. At that time, it was with Türkiye, so that the Turkish President could contact the Russian President and ask what the Russian government was up to.”
He also spoke of the tense months before the conflict broke out: “I started preparing with my colleagues in the office. I said we need to be physically and mentally prepared to do the work that needs to be done. Everyone should practice using weapons.”
Rustem Umerov is expected to become Ukraine's defense minister. (Photo: Dogukan Keskinkilic/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Mr. Umerov has a background in business, but has also undertaken a number of diplomatic and political missions. Before entering parliament four years ago, he founded an investment company called ASTEM, which focuses on communications, information technology, and infrastructure. The ASTEM Foundation is one of the sponsors of the Future Leaders of Ukraine program at Stanford University.
His business background could be important at a time when Ukraine’s military is transforming itself, bringing in billions of dollars in international aid and buying up equipment from Western countries as the country moves closer to NATO standards, analysts say. But Umerov’s direct experience in defense is limited.
Sharing with Forbes, Mr. Umerov also said that only Ukraine can win the war with Russia. “After we win, we will be one of the countries that will decide the fate of Russia, along with our partners. Ukraine needs to take a leading role in this process.”
Reznikov gives up his seat
Mr Umerov will replace Mr Reznikov, whose long tenure was tainted by scandals involving the defence ministry.
Multiple corruption investigations into Defense Ministry procurement contracts have been launched, threatening to overshadow Ukraine's military reform into a modern force based on Western tactics and technology.
Although the corruption allegations do not implicate Mr. Reznikov personally, he has admitted that they have affected him to some extent. The investigation has also led to some skepticism about the use of aid among Western partners, after they provided billions of dollars in equipment to Ukraine.
Mr Reznikov’s promotion to a different ministry position was widely reported in early 2023. “Thank you for your support and constructive criticism,” he tweeted in February. “We have drawn conclusions. We will continue reforms. Even in wartime.”
“We have conducted an internal audit targeting the purchasing units. That audit is still ongoing,” he said at the time.
Nguyen Quang Minh (according to CNN)
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