Jewish President Appoints Muslim Defense Minister: Ukraine’s Diverse Leadership Debunks Russia’s “Nazi” Slurs
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the removal of Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov on September 3, marking the biggest change among the country’s political leaders since the start of Russia’s invasion over eighteen months ago. Reznikov’s departure comes after weeks of speculation regarding allegations of financial improprieties at the Ministry of Defense. This move reflects Ukraine’s commitment to a zero tolerance approach towards corruption.
Rustem Umerov, who currently chairs Ukraine’s State Property Fund and has played key roles as a negotiator in prisoner exchanges with Russia and the UN-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative, is set to replace Reznikov as the Defense Minister. Umerov’s anticipated appointment holds significant symbolic value as he is a member of Ukraine’s Muslim Crimean Tatar minority. With Umerov’s confirmation, Ukraine will have both a Jewish President and a Muslim Minister of Defense, effectively highlighting the diversity of the country’s leadership and debunking Russia’s propaganda of a “Nazi Ukraine.”
When Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, he made “de-Nazification” of the country one of his key war aims, together with the complete demilitarization of Ukraine. However, these claims by the Putin regime are not new. Throughout the Cold War, Moscow propagandists sought to discredit Ukraine’s centuries-long struggle for independence by associating it with Nazi collaboration. In the post-Soviet era, Russian officials have actively revived and spread these slurs, claiming that Ukraine’s pro-democracy 2014 Euromaidan Revolution was a far-right coup that turned the country into a fascist state. Despite these assertions, there is no credible evidence to support Russia’s claims.
In reality, far-right groups in Ukraine have minimal influence and are confined to the fringes of the country’s political landscape. During Ukraine’s 2014 presidential election, the two leading far-right candidates received support from less than 2% of the Ukrainian electorate. Furthermore, in the 2019 parliamentary elections, nationalist parties received just 2.15% of the vote. These results demonstrate that support for far-right politicians in Ukraine is lower than in most other European countries, contradicting the Kremlin’s false assertions.
The election of Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Ukraine’s president in 2019 dealt another blow to Russia’s baseless claims about a “fascist Ukraine.” Zelenskyy, who has Jewish roots and had a successful showbiz career as a Russian-speaking comic, was elected by a landslide majority of over 73%. Russian officials and propagandists have struggled to explain how a country supposedly dominated by Nazis could overwhelmingly support a Jewish leader. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov even made a disgraceful comment suggesting that Zelenskyy’s Jewish roots were insignificant because Adolf Hitler also had Jewish blood. This comment prompted international condemnation and necessitated a personal apology from Putin to the Israeli Prime Minister.
The appointment of Rustem Umerov as Ukraine’s defense minister further undermines Russia’s false portrayal of Ukraine as a xenophobic and intolerant country. Umerov’s selection was not based on his ethnicity or faith but on his qualifications and suitability for the role. However, it would have been unthinkable to appoint an ethnic minority Muslim as defense minister if Ukraine even remotely resembled the far-right dystopia depicted by Russian propaganda.
These examples expose the baseless lies underlying Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia has sought to exploit Europe’s historical wounds and dehumanize Ukrainian victims by baselessly labeling them as successors to Nazi Germany. However, the real fascists in Ukraine are the Russian troops sent by Putin to extinguish Ukrainian statehood and erase Ukrainian identity. These soldiers are fighting a losing battle against an increasingly confident and diverse Ukraine united by its European identity.
Peter Dickinson is the editor of the Atlantic Council’s UkraineAlert service.