Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Sunday plans to replace Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov because he said "new approaches" were needed.
Driving the news: Zelensky said in a televised address that lawmakers would vote this week on whether to dismiss Reznikov, who's led the ministry since before Russia's military launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "I expect the Parliament to support" nominee Rustem Umerov, who heads Ukraine's State Property Fund, Zelensky said.
Brett McGurk, President Biden's senior Middle East adviser, is expected to travel to Saudi Arabia this week to meet with senior Palestinian officials and discuss a potential Palestinian component of a possible mega-deal between the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Israel, four U.S. and Palestinian sources familiar with the issue told Axios.
Why it matters: Biden officials believe that if an agreement that includes a Saudi Arabia-Israel peace deal also benefits Palestinians, it will be much easier to persuade enough Democratic senators to support the deal, includingthe parts that are expected to be less popular like a U.S.-Saudi security agreement or a civilian nuclear energy program in Saudi Arabia.
