Aug. 18 could be a very important day in Ukraine’s political life. Parliament must take responsibility and vote (or not vote) on a crucial position in the government – the defense minister.
On the eve, it is unknown whose candidacy President Zelensky (and the defense minister, according to the Constitution, is the president’s prerogative when forming the government) will propose to parliament.
This is the biggest intrigue. Why? Because the defense minister, during the war, controls a huge defense budget, which, in essence, is the budget of all of Ukraine – more than $100 billion.
Ukraine has had no defense minister since July – when President Zelensky, in order to remove Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, whose reforms were disliked by the army and rear-echelon bureaucracy that had become accustomed to quietly and without excessive oversight spending enormous wartime budgets under conditions of secrecy, reshuffled the entire government of Yulia Svyrydenko.
The scandal, which sparked mass protests that are still continuing, became a turning point that not only outraged Ukrainian society but also brought people out into mass rallies, with the central theme being dissatisfaction with the government’s opaque and unaccountable policies.
The scandal was so serious that Interior Minister Klymenko, who was planned to be appointed in Fedorov’s place, refused the offer.
The authorities quickly found someone to fill the vacancy. The acting defense minister became a well-known special forces officer, head of the Security Service of Ukraine, General Yevhen Khmara.
And here there are two problems.
First, Khmara is a combat general. The brilliant author of Operation Spider’s Web, during which one-third of Russia’s strategic aviation was destroyed. But he has no experience managing a large bureaucratic apparatus, where many functions are typically based in the rear.
Second, General Khmara is an active-duty military officer. And the Constitution requires a civilian to head the Ministry of Defense. So, has Khmara now suddenly left the army? This is unknown. Or perhaps some other candidate will be proposed for the position?
If Fedorov is not reinstated, it will only fuel the protests, already inflamed by another questionable appointment by President Zelensky: former Defense Minister and National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov was appointed head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, although he is not an intelligence officer. He is also Zelensky’s chief negotiator, yet not a diplomat. Moreover, he has been linked to allegations of corruption within the president’s closest circle and is known to be a close associate of the recently removed head of the president’s office, Andrii Yermak, who is currently under investigation.