Airforce Technology

Daily Newsletter

04 September 2023

Daily Newsletter

Signal: Ukrainian Minister of Defence Reznikov resigns in corruption fallout

Reznikov has resigned as minister of defence for Ukraine following allegations of corruption levelled at his ministry.

Oleksii Reznikov submitted his letter of resignation from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence today, 4 September, following ongoing reports of corrupt procurement practices in his department.

He had served as the Minister of Defence since 4 November 2021, and had previously served the government as the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, from 4 March 2020.

https://twitter.com/oleksiireznikov/status/1698588926854692952?s=20

Several commentators have pointed out that while the outgoing Minister of Defence had built up a good reputation with Western operators, and had personally remained clear of allegations of corruption, the move to oust Reznikov can be attributed to his inaction over corruption by other Ministry of Defence officials. Notable allegations of graft relating to are described by Tymofiy Mylovanov, president of the Kyiv School of Economics, former Ukrainian Minister of Economy and and adviser to the Zelensky administration:

https://twitter.com/Mylovanov/status/1698603404082188350?s=20

Mylovanov clarifies that he allegations against the department are unproven and relate to non-weapon-supplies, limited to buying over-priced military food and winter clothing, but the appearance of corruption was significant enough to encourage Ukrainian President Zelensky to act.

In an address to the Ukrainian people, President Zelensky said he would be putting Rustem Umerov forward as the next Minister of Defence:

https://twitter.com/ChristopherJM/status/1698416144728600842?s=20

Umerov has since submitted his resignation as head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine, in anticipation of the Ukrainian parliament approving his promotion:

https://twitter.com/KyivPost/status/1698625470667899302?s=20

The political history of Umerov is interesting as he was previously a member of the Ukrainian opposition Holos party that was highly critical of the Servant of the People (SoP) faction that Zelensky leads. He was later hired to run the State Property Fund after a separate corruption scandal, but as assistant director of the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center, Andrew D'Anieri points out, had some difficulty there in limiting further corruption.

https://twitter.com/andrew_danieri/status/1698434625226330573?s=20

Our signals coverage is powered by GlobalData’s Thematic Engine, which tags millions of data items across six alternative datasets — patents, jobs, deals, company filings, social media mentions and news — to themes, sectors and companies. These signals enhance our predictive capabilities, helping us to identify the most disruptive threats across each of the sectors we cover and the companies best placed to succeed.

Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs) are beginning to see combat deployment

The recent introduction of hypersonic missiles into the global threat matrix has led some observers to consider the potential of DEW as an effective countermeasure to this emerging technology. Consequently, the DEW market presents significant potential for growth due to rising global demand and extensive opportunities for technological innovation, though the exorbitant cost of most DEW systems poses its own challenges, most notably higher financial risk during R&D as well as a relatively limited pool of viable customers.