Ukraine’s parliament is expected to vote Wednesday, Aug. 19, on candidates to fill two vacant Cabinet positions: defense minister and foreign minister.
According to Verkhovna Rada Deputies Oleksiy Honcharenko and Yaroslav Zheleznyak, President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to submit Andrii Sybiha for foreign minister and Yevhen Khmara – an active-duty major general, currently serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) – for defense minister and on Tuesday, Aug. 18.
Zheleznyak said the Conciliation Council of the Verkhovna Rada had announced that the candidates would meet with the political party members within the legislative body on Tuesday, followed by a vote on both appointments Wednesday.
The nominations come after a Cabinet reshuffle in July that saw former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov removed from office, triggering a wave of protests. Demonstrators have called for Fedorov’s reinstatement
The controversy reportedly also contributed to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko declining the defense minister post.
Zelensky subsequently appointed Maj. Gen. Yevhen Khmara as acting defense minister. At the time, Khmara was serving as acting head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
Khmara, a senior special forces officer, is credited with overseeing Operation Spiderweb, which Ukraine says destroyed a significant portion of Russia’s strategic bomber force.
However, Ukrainian law requires the defense minister to be a civilian, raising questions about whether Khmara could formally take the position.
According to RBC-Ukraine outlet, several options were considered to address the issue, including adopting legislation that would allow an active-duty military officer to serve as defense minister during martial law.
Khmara is now expected to leave military service before taking the ministerial post, according to the report.
The president has the authority to nominate candidates for defense and foreign ministers. During the July Cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko’s government was approved as a package, while Sybiha remained as acting foreign minister.
Sybiha was not initially expected to be replaced, but his formal appointment was delayed alongside the selection of a permanent defense minister.
However, protests over Fedorov’s dismissal have continued, with demonstrators gathering outside the Verkhovna Rada on Tuesday and chanting “Shame!” and “Servants of the people, come out to the people.”
Fedorov has criticized his removal as unjustified, saying his efforts to implement reforms and resistance from the bureaucracy contributed to his dismissal.