1 UKRAINE
Defence minister resigns on being removed from post
The country’s defence minister submitted his resignation letter after Volodymyr Zelenskiy removed him from his post last Sunday, in the biggest reshuffle by the president of his government team since Russia’s invasion.
Oleksii Reznikov, whose ministry has been hit by corruption scandals, said he had written to the chair of Ukraine’s parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, confirming he was stepping down.
“It was an honor to serve the Ukrainian people and work for the #UAarmy for the last 22 months, the toughest period of Ukraine’s modern history,” Reznikov posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In his nightly video address, Zelenskiy said he was replacing Reznikov with Rustem Umerov (below), an ex-businessman and former parliamentary deputy. Umerov, a Crimean Tatar, is a representative of the peninsula’s Turkic Muslim minority, which Russia has persecuted since it annexed Crimea in 2014.
There is speculation Reznikov will be appointed as Ukraine’s ambassador to London. Downing Street is likely to welcome the appointment of Reznikov, who is a known and trusted figure.
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2 RUSSIA/NORTH KOREA
Kim and Putin expected to take steps on weapons pact
Kim Jong-un will reportedly travel to Russia to meet Vladimir Putin and discuss the possibility of supplying weapons to the Kremlin for the war in Ukraine.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said details of the meeting, expected this
