The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has approved the appointment of the Crimean Tatar ex-lawmaker Rustem Umerov as the country’s new defense minister.
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky recommended Umerov for the parliament’s approval:
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is well acquainted with this person, and Umerov does not require additional introductions. I expect support for this candidacy from the parliament,
Zelensky said in his nightly address.
The parliament voted overwhelmingly in Umerov’s favor.
“Our main objective is victory,” Umerov wrote on Facebook after the vote.
Rustem Umerov is replacing Oleksii Reznikov, who occupied the defense minister’s post for the first 18 months of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
