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Who would run Ukraine's defence ministry next?
Summary
A look back at an announcement by a People's Deputy on 5 February 2023 about a change at the top of the defence ministry.
Who would lead Ukraine's Ministry of Defense after a corruption scandal? On 5 February 2023, People's Deputy of Ukraine Davyd Arakhamia gave an answer: Kyrylo Budanov, the chief of military intelligence, would replace Oleksii Reznikov as Minister of Defense.
The announcement tied the planned change directly to the corruption scandal that had surrounded the ministry. Arakhamia, a member of parliament, presented the move as a replacement of one figure by another: the head of the country's military intelligence service stepping into the post then held by Reznikov.
The announcement named two men with very different public roles. Reznikov held the defence portfolio, while Budanov led military intelligence. Under the plan Arakhamia described, the intelligence chief would move to the ministry.
The statement was an announcement of intent made on 5 February 2023, not a completed appointment. What it made clear was the direction of travel: a scandal-hit ministry, and a new name proposed to lead it.
