Наталя Хандусенко War 17 July 2026, 18:02

Yevheniy Khmara became the acting Minister of Defense

This evening, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine appointed two acting ministers: Defense and Foreign Affairs.

This was announced by Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky.

"In agreement with the President, the Government has appointed Yevheniy Khmara as the Acting Minister of Defense and Andriy Sybiga as the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs. It is important to maintain continuity of work in the areas of defense and foreign policy," the new head of the Government noted.

Recall that on January 5, 2026, Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed Major General Khmara as Acting Head of the Security Service of Ukraine. In this position, he replaced Vasyl Malyuk, who resigned.

Khmara is a professional soldier with extensive experience in special forces. He began his career at the Special Operations Center "A" of the SBU in 2011, and twelve years later, in 2023, he became the head of this elite "Alpha" unit.

"I believe that under the current conditions, real long-range effectiveness, really strong security work that will guarantee control over the internal situation in the components of the Defense Forces, and real experience in managing people in the Alpha Special Operations Center of the Security Service of Ukraine should become an advantage in the position of Minister of Defense of Ukraine," Zelenskyy noted yesterday.

Recall that on July 16, the Verkhovna Rada approved the new composition of the Cabinet of Ministers , but without the nominations of the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Instead, the resignation of Mykhailo Fedorov from this position caused protests throughout Ukraine and significant political resonance.

It was previously reported that former Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko could be appointed to replace Fedorov. Instead, Zelenskyy offered him the position of Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council.

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