You're reading: Poroshenko suggests National Guard chief as new defense minister

President Petro Poroshenko submitted National Guard chief Stepan Poltorak as the new defense minister. The parliament will consider Poltorak as it convenes on Oct. 14.

On Oct. 12 Poroshenko fired Valeriy Heletey from the post of defense minister after three months of service. Commenting on the decision in a TV address, Poroshenko criticised Heletey for poor job on getting the army prepared for winter.

Poltorak has been serving as head for the National Guard, a military law enforcement unit of Interior Ministry, since April 15. Before that he spent two months as head of the Interior Ministry troops (later transformed into the National Guard) and some 10 years as head of Kyiv-based Interior Ministry Troops Academy.

Military expert Dmitry Tymchuk points out that Poltorak has never worked on the army post, coming from the Interior Ministry institutions.

“At the same time we saw that during the conflict in Donbas the National Guard had less scandals and supplies’ problems comparing to the army,” Tymchuk says.

“It gives hope – perhaps Poltorak will manage to build an effective army. But to do so, he has to beat the real bureacracy monster – Defense Ministry.”

If supported by the parliament, Poltorak will become Ukraine’s fourth defense minister since February, when EuroMaidan Revolution ousted former president Viktor Yanukovych and his government.

Ihor Tenyukh, Svoboda party member, occupied the post for just one month after the revolution. On March 25 he was replaced by Mykhailo Koval, former deputy head of Ukraine’s Customs Service.

The critics of Poltorak say he is responsible for assaulting the anti-government protesters in December.

When the parliament considered Poltorak as the head of the National Guard in early April lawmakers Andriy Kozhemyakin and Anatoliy Hrytsenko spoke against Poltorak, saying that he was responsible for bringing the cadets of the Interior MInistry Academy to help disperse the protesters.

“There is an ongoing investigation of the EuroMaidan events. If Poltorak didn’t give any criminal orders during Maidan, he shouldn’t be persecuted for just being among the police officers at the time,” said Tymchuk.