Ukrainian leaders are losing their conflict with Russia, Marjorie Taylor Greene, a member of the US House of Representatives from Georgia, told US radio show host Alex Jones.
“Ukraine is losing this war,” the Republican congresswoman said in an interview on madmaxworld.tv on Sunday. She added that she was “probably the only member of Congress that will say that out loud.”
Also, Taylor Greene criticized Washington’s sanctions policy which she said was prompting BRICS to strengthen their commercial ties which may make the grouping “tank our dollar,” as BRICS member countries will switch to national currencies in their trade.
Following the results of the 15th BRICS summit held in Johannesburg on August 22-24, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will officially join the bloc on January 1, 2024.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has announced he will replace his Defence Minister – marking the biggest political shake-up in Ukraine since the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
In his nightly video address to the nation, the Ukrainian president said he would dismiss defence minister Oleksii Reznikov and ask parliament this week to replace him with Rustem Umerov, head of the country’s main privatisation fund.
Mr Reznikov has been defence minister since November 2021 and had helped secure billions of dollars of Western military aid to help the war effort, but has been dogged by corruption allegations surrounding his ministry that he has described as smears.
Mr Umerov, a 41-year-old former legislator of Crimean Tatar descent, has been at the helm of Ukraine’s State Property Fund since September 2022 and has been actively involved in delicate wartime negotiations, including those related to the Black Sea grain deal.
Sky’s international correspondent Alex Rossi said the move is “very significant”.
“It’s clear President Zelenskyy is trying to reverse the narrative – that you are hearing from some Western officials – that it’s not going particularly well,” he said.
“How does Mr Reznikov’s dismissal fit into that? Are we going to see a complete change in the way they go about things?
“There have been significant corruption scandals, there’s no accusation against Mr Reznikov but of course he is the man in charge and there were calls for his dismissal.”
The decision comes amid a crackdown on corruption in Ukraine that Mr Zelenskyy has been keen to emphasise.
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Kyiv has applied to join the European Union and the public has become highly sensitive to corruption as the war rages with no end in sight.
“I believe the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society as a whole,” Mr Zelenskyy said.
An English speaker, Mr Reznikov is seen as having built up a strong rapport with allied Defence Ministers and military officials. One MP has tipped him as Ukraine’s possible new Ambassador to London.
Within Ukraine, Mr Reznikov’s ministry was accused of buying food at inflated prices.
With additional reports from TASS, Sky News