By KYIV. Nov 21 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Defense Minister of Ukraine Rustem Umerov has said that no decision has been made regarding possible personnel reshuffles in the Ukrainian military command, but every effort is being applied to improve its effectiveness.
“As for a change of command, we discuss all of its parameters inside our military perimeter. In this regard, I must say that no decision has been made so far. However, we do all we can to improve its effectiveness. And if this happens, we will always communicate this very openly,” he said at a joint press briefing with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius in Kyiv on Tuesday.
Umerov also said that “if such things happen, they concern the issues that had been raised earlier or for a better effectiveness.”
On November 13, Ukrainska Pravda, citing its own sources in the country’s military and political leadership, reported that the Defense Ministry of Ukraine was considering a possibility of dismissing three commanders of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: Commander of the Medical Forces Tetiana Ostaschenko, Commander of the Tavria Operational and Strategic Group Oleksandr Tarnavsky, and Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Serhiy Nayev.
According to the publication, paramedics and volunteers who provide medical support to the Defense Forces insisted on Ostaschenko’s dismissal, and the sources did not report the reasons for the probable dismissal of Tarnavsky and Nayev, but clarified that the issue of the dismissal of these people has been under consideration for several months. At the same time, according to Ukrainska Pravda, Nayev may become one of the main defendants in the case, which concerns the defense of Kherson region in 2022.
