rki.news | Sources Anadolu
KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday submitted nominations to parliament for Andrii Sybiha to continue as foreign minister and Yevheniy Khmara to become defense minister.
Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak said parliament is expected to vote on the appointments Wednesday.
Khmara has served as acting defense minister since July 17, while Sybiha has led Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry since September 2024.
Khmara, a major general and career officer with the Security Service of Ukraine, has served with the agency’s elite Alpha special operations unit since 2011. He headed the SBU’s Special Operations Center A from 2023 and served as acting head of the agency from January 2026.
His nomination comes amid a major wartime government and military reshuffle, including the dismissal of former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, which triggered protests across Ukraine.
Zelenskyy has acknowledged tensions between the Defense Ministry and General Staff, saying disagreements extended beyond reported personal differences between Fedorov and Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.