Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he would ask parliament this week to dismiss Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov and to replace him with Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s main privatisation fund.

The announcement on Sunday, made in Zelenskyy’s nightly video address to the nation, sets the stage for the biggest shake-up of Ukraine’s defence establishment during the war.

Reznikov, who was named defence minister in November 2021, has helped secure billions of dollars of Western military aid to assist the war effort, but has been dogged by graft allegations surrounding his ministry that he described as smears.

“I’ve decided to replace the Minister of Defense of Ukraine. Oleksii Reznikov has been through more than 550 days of full-scale war,” Zelenskyy said.

“I believe the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society as a whole.”

The change of defence minister must be approved by parliament, but is likely to be supported by a majority of lawmakers in the Verkhovna Rada. Zelenskyy said he expected parliament to approve Umerov’s appointment.