Oleksii Yuriiovych Reznikov (Ukrainian:Олексій Юрійович Резніков,IPA:[ɔ.lɛkˈsʲijˈju.rʲij.ɔ.ʋet͡ʃˈrɛz.nʲi.kɔu̯]; born 18 June 1966) is a Ukrainian lawyer and politician who served as theMinister of Defence of Ukraine from 4 November 2021 until his dismissal on 5 September 2023.^[2][3] Reznikov previously has served in several other positions in the government of Ukraine:Deputy Prime Minister,Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine,^[4] deputy head of theKyiv City State Administration from 2016 to 2018, and deputy mayor-secretary of theKyiv City Council from June 2014^[5] to December 2015.

Oleksii Reznikov
Олексій Резніков
Official portrait, 2021
17thMinister of Defence
In office 4 November 2021 – 5 September 2023
President	Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Prime Minister	Denys Shmyhal
Preceded by	Andriy Taran
Succeeded by	Rustem Umerov
Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Minister of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories
In office 4 March 2020 – 3 November 2021[1]
President	Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Prime Minister	Denys Shmyhal
Preceded by	Oksana Koliada
Succeeded by	Iryna Vereshchuk
Personal details
Born	(1966-06-18)18 June 1966 (age 58) Lviv,Ukrainian SSR,Soviet Union
Political party	Independent
Other political affiliations	European Solidarity
Education	University of Lviv
Military service
Allegiance	Soviet Union
Branch/service	Soviet Air Forces
Years of service	1984–1986
Rank	Sergeant

Reznikov was born on 18 June 1966 inLviv, which was then part of theUkrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in theSoviet Union. His father, Yurii Reznikov was a professor, Master of Sports in Acrobatics, Provost of the Lviv State Institute of Physical Culture. His mother, Olena Reznikova, was a neurologist at Lviv neuropsychiatric clinic, Master of Sports in Rhythmic Gymnastics.^{[citation needed]}

From 1984 to 1986, Reznikov served in theSoviet Air Forces, serving with the 806th Bombardment Aviation Regiment atLutsk and Military Unit 87358 atNovohrad-Volynskyi.^[6]

Reznikov attendedLviv University, receiving a master's degree with honours in Law in 1991. During his university years, Reznikov actively participated in student life: he won the Law Student Olympics across the Ukrainian SSR in the individual and team competitions and represented Ukraine at the Law Student Olympics across the Soviet Union.^{[citation needed]}

In addition toUkrainian, Reznikov is fluent inRussian,English, andPolish.^{[citation needed]}

Reznikov received a lawyer's certificate in 1994.^[7]

Reznikov's professional career began during his last year of university, when he co-founded the brokerage company Galicia Securities. Between 1999 and 2002, he served as the Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Legislation Centre in Kyiv. He also established Pravis law firm (later Reznikov, Vlasenko and Partners), which, in 2006, merged with the law firm Magister and Partners to becomeMagisters.

In 2009 and 2010, Magisters won the Chambers Europe Award. In 2010, British magazineThe Lawyer named Magisters the best law firm in Russia and the CIS. In 2011, Magisters was subject of a friendly takeover byEgorov, Puginsky, Afanasiev and Partners, an international group with offices inLondon,Moscow,Saint Petersburg, Kyiv,Minsk andWashington, D.C. Until 3 July 2014, Reznikov headed the Department for Disputes and served as General Counsel of Egorov, Puginsky, Afanasiev and Partners.

During his law practice, Reznikov defended then-presidential candidateViktor Yushchenko before theSupreme Court of Ukraine, and the third round of the2004 Ukrainian presidential election was annulled.

Reznikov represented B. Fuksman and O. Rodnyanskiy in their case against the "Studio 1 + 1" in the company ofCentral European Media Enterprises, pertaining to their share of the ownership. He represented "Investment-Metallurgical Union" Consortium defending the legality of privatization of the "Krivorozhstal"; defended PFC "Dnieper" on privatization of the "Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant". Reznikov also represented several other people, includingSavik Shuster,Vladimir Gusinsky, OJSC "ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih" company "Quasar" Sadogan Petroleum, DCH,FC Metalist Kharkiv (on charges of violating the principles of fair play), IA "IMC" Corporation " Interpipe ". He gained extensive experience in representing clients in theSupreme Economic Court of Ukraine, theSupreme Administrative Court of Ukraine, theSupreme Court of Ukraine, and in theCourt of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.

On 20 June 2014, Reznikov's advocacy license (originally issued on 10 March 1994) was suspended, due to his appointment as the Secretary of the Kyiv City Council.

In November 2018, Reznikov renewed his legal practice as a partner at the Asters Law Firm. Oleksii focuses on alternative dispute resolution including: expert determination, negotiation, facilitation, conciliation, mediation, fact-finding, early neutral evaluation, settlement conference and settlement agreements.

Reznikov stopped his right to practice law in March 2020.^[7] The National Bar Association of Ukraine renewed Reznikov's right to practice law on 16 January 2024 "on the basis of his application."^[7]

In the summer of 2024, Oleksii Reznikov joined theGLOBSEC team as a Distinguished Fellow. GLOBSEC is a non-partisan non-governmental organization based in Bratislava, Slovakia. One of its main activities is the annual GLOBSEC Bratislava Global Security Forum, in existence since 2005.

In the2014 Kyiv local election, Reznikov was elected toKyiv City Council's 7th convocation as a member ofSolidarity.^[5] Reznikov served as chairman of the Kyiv City Council Commission for the Restitution of the Rights of the Rehabilitated. On 19 June 2014, Reznikov was appointed Deputy Mayor – Secretary of the Kyiv City Council.^[5]

Reznikov has served in multiple positions, including as head of Ukraine's National delegation inCongress of Local and Regional Authorities of theCouncil of Europe from 2015 to 2016. Afterwards, he turned to activism, serving as Deputy Chairman of the Mayor Anti-Corruption Council, as a board member of the "Let's Do it Together" social project. At the same time, he also remained in government becoming a member of the Reformation Team for the Decentralisation, Local Government and Regional Policy of theMinistry of Communities and Territories Development.

On 18 September 2019, PresidentVolodymyr Zelensky authorised Reznikov to represent Ukraine in the working political subgroup at theTrilateral Contact Group on aDonbas settlement.^[8] On 5 May 2020 PresidentVolodymyr Zelensky authorised Reznikov to First Deputy Head of the Ukrainian delegation at the Trilateral Contact Group.

On 4 March 2020, Reznikov was appointedDeputy Prime Minister,Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine in theShmyhal Government.^[4]

On 1 November 2021, Reznikov submitted his letter of resignation from theDeputy Prime Minister,Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine role. This resignation request was registered by theVerkhovna Rada on 1 November 2021.^[9] On 3 November 2021 the Verkhovna Rada dismissed him as Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, and subsequently appointed him Minister of Defence.^[1][10] Reznikov was appointed as Ukraine's Minister of Defence 7 years afterRussiaunilaterally annexed (theUkrainian province)Crimea and 7 years after the start of theWar in Donbas inEastern Ukraine.^[11]

In December 2021 Reznikov stated thatGermany had vetoed Ukraine's purchase of anti-drone rifles and anti-sniper systems via theNATO Support and Procurement Agency.^[12]

On 26 February 2022, two days afterRussia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Reznikov held a call with his Belarusian counterpartViktor Khrenin, who on behalf of Russia's minister of defenseSergei Shoigu offered to stop the invasion if Ukraine capitulated. Reznikov replied that he is "ready to accept the capitulation from the Russian side."^[13]

In December 2022, Reznikov falsely claimed that a new wave ofRussian mobilisation would begin on 5 January 2023, but this didn't happen.^[14]

In February 2023, the head of theServant of the People parliamentary bloc,Davyd Arakhamia, stated that Reznikov would be replaced byKyrylo Budanov as defence minister.^[15] This change did not take place, however.On 5 March 2023, Reznikov stated that the Russians were losing around 500 men killed and wounded in action every day fighting forBakhmut, saying that Russian soldiers were just "cannon fodder" in the Kremlin's "meat grinder tactics".^[16]

In May 2023, he urged ethnicBashkirs from the Russian republic ofBashkortostan not to participate in the war against Ukraine, saying that "thousands of Bashkir men have died or became disabled" because of Putin's imperial ambitions. He said that when he served in theSoviet Air Forces, a Bashkir was one of his closest friends.^[17]

In June 2023, he said that Ukraine was willing to acceptChina as a mediator forpeace talks between Russia and Ukraine only if Beijing could convince Russia to withdraw from all the territories it hadoccupied. According to Reznikov, it seems that China could influence Russia.^[18] Reznikov said that the peace plans presented by China,Brazil orIndonesia are attempts at mediation on behalf of Russia, saying that "they all currently want to be mediators on Russia’s side. That’s why this sort of mediation currently doesn’t fit for us at all because they aren’t impartial".^[19]

On 6 July 2023, US PresidentJoe Biden authorized the provision ofcluster munitions to Ukraine in support of aUkrainian counter-offensive against Russian forces in Russian-occupied southeastern Ukraine. Reznikov welcomed the decision and said that "As we got in May 2022 155-millimeter artillery systems, it became a game changer. In July, we got different types of [Multiple Launch Rocket Systems] it became [the] next game changer … And I hope that cluster munitions [become] a next game changer as weaponry or ammunition for liberation of our temporarily occupied territories."^[20]

For the first time, information about Reznikov's resignation appeared after several high-ranking officials, including deputy defense ministers, were fired in Ukraine in early 2023 due to corruption scandals. Over the next few months, it became known about a number of scandals involving the purchase of products (well known as "Eggs for 17 hryvnias") and ammunition for the military by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine at inflated prices, and Reznikov's resignation was again talked about. According to a source ofThe New York Times in theOffice of the President of Ukraine, the reshuffle in the leadership of the Ukrainian department occurred for three reasons: the Ukrainian authorities believe that a new military leadership is needed due to the protracted war, Reznikov is criticized by civil society and the media against the background of corruption scandals, in addition, he himself expressed a desire to resign.^[21]

On 3 September, PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed Reznikov as minister of defense, seeking to replace him withRustem Umerov and will offer the official recommendation to theVerkhovna Rada when it convenes on 4 September.^[22] Zelenskyy stated he sacked Reznikov because "I believe that the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society as a whole." However, his dismissal during a wider anti-corruption crackdown within the country has cast the official reason in doubt.^[23]

Reznikov was the director of the amateur short films "People-quad" and "People-ATV: Elusive Again."

In 2009, he took part in theSilk Way Rally in theDakar Series as a co-pilot and navigator. The rally took place on the territory of three countries (Russia,Kazakhstan, andTurkmenistan) andKarakum Desert.

• Two-time silver medallist of the Ukraine trophy-raid (2011–2012);
• Champion of the Ukraine trophy-raid (2013);
• Master of Sport of Ukraine in Motorsport.

Reznikov is ofJewish heritage.^[24] In 2020, he married television presenter Yulia Yaroslavivna Zoriy.^[25]

• In 2019, at a reception dedicated to Independence Day, the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to UkraineBartosz Jan Cichocki presented Oleksii Reznikov with a state award – theSilver Cross of Merit.
• In 2022, the Minister of Defence of DenmarkMorten Bødskov presented Oleksii Reznikov with an award "For outstanding leadership during wartime" – theMedal of the Minister of Defence [da].

•   Media related toOleksii Reznikov at Wikimedia Commons
•   Quotations related toOleksii Reznikov at Wikiquote
• O. Reznikov speech at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (on 16 October 2014)^{[permanent dead link]}
• Mme Badlilita M Reznikov M Chiveri - interview during the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe
• Appearances onC-SPAN