TOP HEADLINES

• Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Monday he had submitted his resignation letter to the chairman of parliament, in the biggest shakeup of the defense establishment since Russia started military operation in February 2022. READ MORE BELOW

• Ukraine said on Monday Russian drones fell and detonated on the territory of NATO member Romania during an overnight attack on Ukrainian port infrastructure on the Danube River, but Bucharest categorically denied the report.

• A Russian drone strike on a Ukrainian grain exporting port damaged warehouses and set buildings on fire on Monday, Kyiv said, hours before scheduled talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan.

• Russia's overnight attack on Ukrainian port infrastructure on the Danube river on Monday did not generate direct military threats to neighboring NATO state Romania's territory, Romania's defence ministry said in a statement.

• Russia's three-and-a-half drone attack early on Monday on the Danube River port of Izmail in Ukraine's Odesa region inflicted widespread infrastructure damage with drone debris setting several buildings on fire, the governor of the region said.

IN DEPTH

Reznikov submits resignation letter

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Monday he had submitted his resignation letter to the chairman of parliament, in the biggest shakeup of the defense establishment since Russia invaded in February 2022.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced late on Sunday he had decided to replace his wartime defense minister and proposed Rustem Umerov, a Crimean Tatar who heads the State Property Fund, as his replacement.

In his resignation letter, Reznikov provided an overview of his 22 months in the post, praising Ukraine's fierce wartime resistance against Russian forces and his ministry's lobbying efforts to secure vital military aid from the West.

"Over 50 percent of the temporarily occupied territories by Russia have already been liberated. Every day our defenders are moving forward," he said in the letter posted on X, formally known as Twitter.

"There is an understanding that Ukraine is a shield of Europe in the east."

Reznikov, who has been tipped as Ukraine's possible next ambassador to London, said he saw one of Kyiv's key priorities as building long-term partnerships with key allies and securing "real security guarantees."

Reznikov's ministry has faced wartime scandals over the procurement of food and clothing, as well as allegations from some military aid NGOs that bureaucratic red tape has not been cut quickly enough. Reznikov denies wrongdoing.

He said in his resignation letter that defense procurement and purchase processes had been reformed during his tenure, and that he had fulfilled all the tasks which had been set for him when he was appointed 22 months ago.

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