Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov congratulated Grant Shapps on his appointment as Minister of Defense of Great Britain, expressing hope for further strengthening and development of cooperation between the countries in the field of security and defense.

“I extend my sincere congratulations to Grant Shapps on his appointment as the UK Secretary of State for Defence. We look forward to continuing to strengthen and develop Ukraine-UK cooperation in the field of security and defense, and to working together to achieve victory over tyranny and attain peace in Europe. Best of luck in your role.

Ukraine is grateful for all the military assistance the UK has provided,” Reznikov said on Twitter.

Earlier on Thursday, Ben Wallace submitted his resignation from the post of Defense Minister to the Prime Minister, and Rishi Sunak accepted his resignation.

In July of this year, Wallace said in an interview with The Times that he would leave the post of defense minister in the fall, would not run for parliament and would retire from politics. Wallace announced his plans to Sunak on June 16.

Wallace took a seat in the British Parliament in 2005. In 2005-2010, he was a member of the Parliament's Committee on Scottish Affairs. In 2015, he was appointed Deputy Minister for Northern Ireland Affairs. Then, in 2019, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed Wallace head of the Ministry of Defense.