President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has announced the resignation of Alexei Reznikov from the position of Minister of Defense of Ukraine. His replacement may be Rustem Umerov, the head of the State Property Fund. The appointment must be approved by the Ukrainian parliament.

"Oleksiy Reznikov has gone through more than 550 days of full-scale war. I believe that the Ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society at large," explained Zelensky his decision.

He has nominated Rustem Umerov for the position of the head of the ministry.

"The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine knows this person well, Mr. Umerov does not need any additional introductions. I expect parliamentary support for this candidacy," stated Volodymyr Zelensky.

The current Minister of Defense may become an ambassador to the United Kingdom.

About Rustem Umerov

Rustem Umerov, 41 years old, was born in the city of Samarkand in Uzbekistan into a family of deported Crimean Tatars. 

Rustem Umerov graduated from the Crimea Boarding School for Gifted Children under the Ministry of Education and Science of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. He was a scholarship recipient under the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) Programme in the USA. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in finance from the National Academy of Management.

Rustem Umerov served as a member of the Ukrainian Parliament in the ninth convocation from 2019 to 2022. He has been leading the State Property Fund of Ukraine since September 7, 2022. He is a delegate to the Kurultai of the Crimean Tatar People and an advisor to the leader of the Crimean Tatar People, Mustafa Dzhemilev.

Prior to becoming the head of the State Property Fund, he was the deputy head of the permanent delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Since December 2020, he was the co-chair of the parliamentary group 'Crimean Platform' in the Verkhovna Rada.

He initiated a bill to repeal the free economic zone in Crimea. Rustem Umerov is married and is raising three children.

In December 2020, a cross-factional alliance called the 'Crimean Platform' was established in the Verkhovna Rada. Rustem Umerov was elected as a co-chair of this alliance. He communicates with the Ukrainian government on issues related to the exchange of Crimean political prisoners and prisoners of war.

In 2017, Rustem Umerov played a role in the release of two Kremlin-held political prisoners – Crimean Tatars Akhtem Chiygoz and Ilmi Umerov.

In March 2020, Rustem Umerov initiated parliamentary hearings on de-occupation and reintegration of Crimea and Sevastopol. These hearings aimed to develop a unified strategic document that is part of Ukraine's Development Strategy 2030.

In September 2020, Umerov joined the group responsible for developing the state strategy for the de-occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol, established by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. His candidacy received support from the parliamentary Committee on Human Rights.

He was one of the authors of the law that establishes the procedure for recognizing stateless persons. This law allows such individuals to obtain a document confirming their identity and verifying the legality of their residence in Ukraine. It came into effect on July 18, 2021.

In August 2021, by the decree of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, Rustem Umerov was awarded the Order of Merit, 3rd Degree.