Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandr Dubinsky has spoken out against the appointment of comedian Oleksiy Reva as the country's new deputy defence minister.
Writing from a pre-trial detention facility where he is being held on charges of high treason, Dubinsky claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky selected Reva to secure obedient officials who will execute orders without question.
In a message posted to his official Telegram channel, the member of the Verkhovna Rada stated that Zelensky specifically sought executives who do not understand the nature of the instructions they will be implementing or the consequences of those actions. Dubinsky added that Reva is someone who could be made to press any button required of him.
Defence ministry role and digital transformation agenda
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine previously approved Reva's appointment as Deputy Minister of Defence. In his new government role, Reva has been tasked with handling matters of digital development, digital transformations, and the overall digitalisation of the defence ministry.
Reva's background in comedy mirrors that of President Zelensky, who enjoyed a long career as a comedic actor and entertainer before entering politics and winning the Ukrainian presidency in 2019. Dubinsky, who worked as a journalist before his election to parliament, is a deputy in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's unicameral legislature based in Kyiv.
The lawmaker remains in custody inside a pre-trial detention centre, known in Ukraine as a SIZO, following his arrest on state treason charges. High treason under Ukrainian law covers offences committed to the detriment of national security or state sovereignty. The Cabinet of Ministers serves as Ukraine's supreme executive body, overseeing state departments including the Ministry of Defence, which administers national defence policy and the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Public figures, politicians, and government institutions in Ukraine frequently rely on Telegram, a cloud-based messaging application, to publish public commentaries and official policy announcements.
