Ukrainian lawmaker calls for sacking of National Security and Defense Council head
Axios (Tổng hợp từ TASS)
Ukrainian lawmaker Fyodor Venislavsky has called on President Zelensky to dismiss National Security and Defense Council secretary Rustem Umerov after new audio recordings emerged. The tapes feature Umerov discussing ambassadorial candidates with a friend of the president, including a remark about a candidate driving Donald Trump crazy.
On May 2, the TASS news agency quoted Ukrainian parliament member Fyodor Venislavsky as calling on President Volodymyr Zelensky to dismiss Rustem Umerov, the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, after the release of new "Mindich audio recordings."
Quoted by the publication Strana, Venislavsky described Umerov's dismissal as a "wise decision." He said: "Given the resonance from the tapes we heard during his tenure as Defense Minister, I think that, yes, it would be a wise political decision to dismiss Umerov."
On Friday, new portions of the audio recordings in the case involving Timur Mindich, a friend of President Zelensky, were released. One of them captures conversations between the businessman and Umerov, who was then serving as Defense Minister. They discuss candidates for the post of Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, including Svetlana Grinchuk, former Energy Minister. According to the recording, they believed Grinchuk would "drive" U.S. President Donald Trump "crazy."
