Oleksii Yuriiovych Reznikov (, ; born 18 June 1966) is a Ukrainian lawyer and politician who served as the Minister of Defence of Ukraine from 4 November 2021 until his dismissal on 5 September 2023. 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, deputy head of the Kyiv City State Administration from 2016 to 2018, and deputy mayor-secretary of the Kyiv City Council from June 2014 to December 2015.
Following his departure from politics, Reznikov focuses on academic and teaching work and as a business negotiator.
Early life and education Reznikov was born on 18 June 1966 in Lviv, which was then part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in the Soviet 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.
From 1984 to 1986, Reznikov served in the Soviet Air Forces, serving with the 806th Bombardment Aviation Regiment at Lutsk and Military Unit 87358 at Novohrad-Volynskyi.
Reznikov attended Lviv 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.
In addition to Ukrainian, Reznikov is fluent in Russian, English, and Polish.
Professional career
Reznikov received a lawyer's certificate in 1994. Obtained attorney licence No. 263 in 1994.
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 become Magisters.
In 2009 and 2010, Magisters won the Chambers Europe Award. In 2010, British magazine The Lawyer named Magisters the best law firm in Russia and the CIS.
In 2010 Reznikov founded the Oleksii Reznikov Scholarship for talented law students and postgraduate legal scholars in Ukraine.
In 2011, Magisters was subject of a friendly takeover by Egorov, Puginsky, Afanasiev and Partners, an international group with offices in London, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kyiv, Minsk and Washington, 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 candidate Viktor Yushchenko before the Supreme Court of Ukraine, and the third round of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election was annulled.
Reznikov represented B. Fuksman and O. Rodnyanskiy in their case against the "Studio 1 + 1" in the company of Central European Media Enterprises, pertaining to their share of the ownership. He represented "Investment-Metallurgical Union" Consortium defending the legality of privatisation of the "Krivorozhstal"; defended PFC "Dnieper" on privatisation of the "Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant". Reznikov also represented several other people, including Savik 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 the Supreme Economic Court of Ukraine, the Supreme Administrative Court of Ukraine, the Supreme Court of Ukraine, and in the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.
On 20 June 2014, Reznikov's advocacy licence (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. The National Bar Association of Ukraine renewed Reznikov's right to practice law on 16 January 2024 "on the basis of his application."
In the summer of 2024, Oleksii Reznikov joined the GLOBSEC team as a Distinguished Fellow. GLOBSEC is a non-partisan non-governmental organisation based in Bratislava, Slovakia. One of its main activities is the annual GLOBSEC Bratislava Global Security Forum, in existence since 2005.
Political career
In the 2014 Kyiv local election, Reznikov was elected to Kyiv City Council's 7th convocation as a member of Solidarity. 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.
Reznikov has served in multiple positions, including as head of Ukraine's National delegation in Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council 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 the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development.
From April 2016 to September 2018, Oleksii Reznikov served as Deputy Head of the Kyiv City State Administration (KCSA) for the implementation of self-government powers. His responsibilities included overseeing the implementation of state policy in areas such as local self-government development, domestic policy, international relations, tourism, advertising, cultural heritage protection, education, culture, social welfare, youth, and sports. He was also responsible for leading reforms in decentralisation, local governance, and other aspects of urban life in Kyiv.
Reznikov launched the reform of outdoor advertising in Kyiv. The core principles of this reform were a safe, accessible, and comfortable city.
On 18 September 2019, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy authorised Reznikov to represent Ukraine in the working political subgroup at the Trilateral Contact Group on a Donbas settlement. On 5 May 2020 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy authorised Reznikov to First Deputy Head of the Ukrainian delegation at the Trilateral Contact Group.
On 4 March 2020, Reznikov was appointed Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine in the Shmyhal Government.
On 12 February 2021, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Reznikov proposed the launch of a special economic regime in Donbas aimed at encouraging investment through tax and customs incentives, access to budgetary and donor funding, and international arbitration mechanisms.
On 1 July, at Reznikov's initiative, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Law of Ukraine "On the Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine" (No. 1616-IX), which granted legal status to the Crimean Tatars, Karaites, and Krymchaks as indigenous peoples of Ukraine.
In March 2022, while serving as Ukraine's Minister of Defense, Oleksii Reznikov took part in negotiations with the Russian delegation, which were initially held in Belarus and later in Turkey.
He initiated the development of a new Charter of the Territorial Community of Kyiv, in which he introduced the concept of "public space."
Oleksii Reznikov is one of the initiators and co-authors of draft law No. 8202, "On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine to Improve the System of Cultural Heritage Protection," which strengthens administrative and criminal liability for the destruction of cultural heritage sites and aims to preserve the historical legacy of Kyiv and Ukraine.
He is also one of the authors of draft law No. 8420 "On the Capital of Ukraine – the City of Kyiv," which aims to regulate the activities of local self-government bodies and depoliticise their work. Among other provisions, the law proposes reducing the number of Kyiv City Council deputies from 120 to 25.
Defence Minister
On 1 November 2021, Reznikov submitted his letter of resignation from the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine role. This resignation request was registered by the Verkhovna Rada on 1 November 2021. 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. Reznikov was appointed as Ukraine's Minister of Defence 7 years after Russia unilaterally annexed (the Ukrainian province) Crimea and 7 years after the start of the War in Donbas in Eastern Ukraine.
In December 2021 Reznikov stated that Germany had vetoed Ukraine's purchase of anti-drone rifles and anti-sniper systems via the NATO Support and Procurement Agency.
In 2022–2023, Ukraine's Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov initiated a series of systemic reforms in the fields of defence, digitalisation, and logistics. Among the key achievements were the launch of the electronic registry of conscripts and reservists "Oberih", the establishment of the Defense Procurement Agency based on NATO standards, the implementation of the real-time battlefield coordination system DELTA, the expansion of the SAP and LOGFAS logistics platforms, and the creation of the State Rear Operator (DOT) to centralise non-combat support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
During Reznikov's tenure, the Ministry of Defense also established an Anti-Corruption Council, introduced the digital logistics platform DOT-Chain, and dismantled monopolies in the military food supply sector.
Reznikov reformed the procedures for the adoption of new military equipment, reducing the approval time from several years to just a few weeks. He also initiated the development of female military uniforms and body armour, updated logistics policies to reflect the needs of women, and launched a reform of military education aligned with NATO standards.
In March 2022 Reznikov launched the electronic registry "Oberih" — a unified, centralised, automated information and telecommunications system for managing the data of conscripts, military personnel, and reservists. The formal launch of the system was enacted by Ministry of Defense Order No. 94 dated 28 March 2022.
In June 2022, at Reznikov's initiative, the State Institution "Defense Procurement Agency of Ukraine" was established with the goal of introducing a transparent and efficient defence procurement system in line with NATO standards.
In September 2022, Oleksii Reznikov initiated the simplification of the procedure for adopting new types of weapons and military equipment into service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. On 30 September 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers approved Resolution No. 1097, which amended the regulations governing the supply of weapons, military and special equipment, and ammunition during martial law. As a result, the process of adopting new models – including codification, operational clearance, and integration into unit structures – was significantly accelerated.
At Reznikov's initiative, systemic changes were also launched to address the needs of women in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In December 2022, the Ministry of Defense presented the first samples of field uniforms and body armour adapted to the anatomical features of women. In 2023, the procurement of female-specific gear was officially incorporated into the ministry's logistics policy.