Key points
- The President instructed Major General Yevhenii Khmara to perform the duties of the Minister of Defense.
- He will also recommend that the Verkhovna Rada appoint Khmara to this position on a permanent basis.
- Since January 5, 2026, Khmara has been performing the duties of the head of the SBU, a position he received after the resignation of Vasyl Maliuk.
- Prior to his appointment to the SBU, Major General Khmara headed the “A” Special Operations Center.
- The change occurred against the backdrop of the government’s update – on July 14, the Rada dismissed Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko, and on July 16, Serhii Korytskyi became the new Prime Minister.
- Former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced his resignation on July 15, which led to protests in several cities in Ukraine on July 16.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy instructed Major General Yevhenii Khmara to perform the duties of the Minister of Defense.
According to Zelenskiy, he will also recommend that the Verkhovna Rada appoint Khmara to this position on a permanent basis after following the necessary legal procedures.
Since January 5, 2026, Khmara has been performing the duties of the head of the SBU, a position he received after the resignation of Vasyl Maliuk. Prior to that, Major General Khmara headed the “A” Special Operations Center of the SBU.
The change occurred against the backdrop of the government’s update. On July 12, Zelensky announced the resignation of Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko, and on July 14, the Rada dismissed her from her post. On July 16, Serhii Korytskyi became the new Prime Minister.
Former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced his resignation on July 15, which led to protests in several cities in Ukraine on July 16, including Lviv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Odesa, Kryvyi Rih, Rivne, Cherkasy, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, and Ivano-Frankivsk. Later, Fedorov spoke about a conflict with the Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi.
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