Umerov Appointed New Defense Minister, Vows to ‘Liberate Every Centimeter’ of Ukraine

Rustem Umerov has been officially appointed Ukraine’s new Minister of Defense by the country’s parliament, vowing to do “everything possible and impossible for the victory of Ukraine.”

In a post on social media after his new position was confirmed by the Verkhovna Rada, he defined victory as “when we liberate every centimeter of our country and every one of our people.”

“Those who, unfortunately, are temporarily captive – will definitely be returned. Everyone – children, prisoners of war, political prisoners, civilians.

“Let's return normal and decent life to Ukrainian cities that are unfortunately temporarily occupied.

“We know people are out there waiting for us. Because these are our people, and our territories.”

The 41-year-old's appointment marks a significant change for Ukraine more than a year and a half into Russia's invasion, and follows corruption scandals in the defense ministry.

Yesterday, the parliament voted to accept Oleksiy Reznikov’s resignation from his position as the head of the Ministry of Defense and also remove Rustem Umerov from his role as the head of the State Property Fund, knowing of his nomination to the new post.

Rustem Umerov was born in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on April 19, 1982, to a family originally from Alushta, Crimea. In September 2019, he was elected as a People's Deputy representing the Voice party.

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During his tenure in the Council, Umerov led the Temporary Special Commission responsible for monitoring the receipt and utilization of international material and technical assistance.

In September of last year, he assumed the position of head at the State Property Fund.