Umierov on Tymoshenko’s appointment to Defense Ministry: He is responsible for communications. Colleagues say he is great specialist
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine wants all communications of the Defense Forces to have one voice policy, so they were looking for a specialist. Kyrylo Tymoshenko was recommended as a great specialist and was hired.
According to Censor.NET, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said this in an interview with LB.ua.
"My colleagues said that there is a great specialist. I asked the anti-corruption activists if he was a professional. They said yes. Do you have any questions for him? Did I know that I would be criticized for this decision? Yes, I did. I focused on the goal that my country needs, not me personally," the minister emphasized.
When asked about the fact that Tymoshenko was dismissed from his previous job in the Presidential Office with a scandal, the Defense Minister replied: "I am very clearly focused on the goal. I needed to rebuild my own. If I only invite everyone in a white coat (to the team - ed.)... I knew him. I came to him and said: "Kyrylo, here are the goals, can you take this height on your own?" He said: "Yes". Okay, then your vertical is this high. Did I know that I would be criticized for this decision? Yes, I did. I focused on the goal that my country needs, not me personally," Umierov assured.
According to the defense minister, "other professionals" said that communication in the ministry has improved.
However, Tymoshenko's appointment was questioned by international partners. According to Umierov, he talked to diplomats about this and assured them that if they had questions to Tymoshenko, he would pass the information on to law enforcement.
"I asked Kyrylo if there were any questions to him from law enforcement or anti-corruption agencies, so that he could consult a lawyer or something. When I hired him, he said that the NACP had no questions for him. You know, today, not only authorities can destroy a reputation, but also, say, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter," the minister added.
Umierov also denied that Tymoshenko was in charge of not only communications but also fortifications at the ministry.
According to the minister, he asked Tymoshenko not to do so until he addressed him.
The minister also said that Tymoshenko had assured him that he was not in contact with Yurii Holyk. As a reminder, Holyk is the ideologue of Big Construction and a person involved in a corruption case: in June, NABU conducted searches at his place.
Dismissal and appointment of Kyrylo Tymoshenko
It was reported that former Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko has been working as an advisor to Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umierov since March 1. At the end of 2022, the media reported that Tymoshenko was driving a $100,000 Porsche and renting a 1,200-square-meter estate from developer Nikonov at a threefold lower price.
As a reminder, in early 2023, Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired Kyrylo Tymoshenko from the Presidential Office after a scandal. At the time, journalists found out that Tymoshenko had been using a Chevrolet Tahoe SUV that the allies had donated to Ukraine for humanitarian purposes.
At the same time, Tymoshenko was fired along with Valentyn Reznichenko, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, who was close to him and under whose leadership the region ordered road repairs worth UAH 1.5 billion to his friend's company during the full-scale war. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, the authorities also discovered abuses of humanitarian aid, which Tymoshenko was managing on behalf of the President's Office.
All criminal proceedings against Reznichenko have not progressed for a long time. It was only on September 12, 2024, that the NABU and the SAPO served a notice of suspicion to Valentyn Reznichenko, the former head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration, in the case of causing UAH 286 million in damages during road repairs under martial law. The High Anti-Corruption Court imposed a bail of UAH 30 million on him. However, the court released him on bail of UAH 30 million.
