Ihor Klymenko, Ukraine’s former interior minister and the original candidate for defense minister, has been offered the position of secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council (RNBO) on Friday.
Klymenko went without an official post on Thursday after popular uproar against former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov’s dismissal, with his original role of interior minister taken over by a new cabinet under newly sworn-in Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky.
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In his Friday update, President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Klymenko for his work as interior minister and said the relevant decree is being prepared for Klymenko’s new role at the RNBO.
“I met with Ihor Klymenko. I am grateful for his work in the Ministry of Internal Affairs system. There were many difficult challenges, and the response was always effective,” Zelensky wrote.
“Ihor Klymenko will continue to work for Ukraine in the field of protecting our state and people. I offered him the position of Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine,” he added.
Zelensky appointed Yevhen Khmara, the head of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), as acting defense minister following Thursday’s political crisis.
Zelensky suggested that Klymenko’s work at the RNBO would be to coordinate decisions between the council and the military.
“The main thing is the most effective coordination between all components in the security and defense sector and daily control over the implementation of decisions,” Zelensky continued.
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“Every decision of the RNBO of Ukraine and the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief must be implemented in full and at the specified time,” he added.
It’s unclear what would happen to Rustem Umerov, the current RNBO secretary who assumed the role after his tenure as defense minister following a government reshuffle approximately a year ago.
Political earthquake in Ukraine – what happened?
On Sunday, Zelensky announced a government reshuffle and the removal of former Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. She was reportedly offered the role of envoy to Washington, which she reportedly rejected.
Svyrydenko officially resigned on Tuesday, with her cabinet subsequently dissolved after the Verkhovna Rada voted to confirm her dismissal.
Then, late on Wednesday evening, reports began to surface that Fedorov was leaving his post as defense minister after about six months in office. Zelensky and Fedorov himself later confirmed that it stemmed from disputes with Oleksandr Syrsky, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces.
A day later, Fedorov accused Syrsky and the military top brass of sowing divisions and blocking reform initiatives at a surprise press briefing, though Syrsky has been relatively quiet and, in his response, thanked Fedorov for his work and said he wished he would remain on the team.
Fedorov has been seen as a major reform figure and helped remove the Soviet bureaucracy, and protests erupted nationwide calling for Fedorov’s reinstatement.
On Thursday afternoon, the Verkhovna Rada approved former Naftogaz Chairman Serhiy Koretsky as the new prime minister, and hours later approved his cabinet proposals, leaving only the foreign and defense minister posts undecided, as they are to be voted on separately.
Zelensky appointed Khmara as the acting defense minister, though he suggested that he would also propose Khmara as the official minister to the Verkhovna Rada; there are no signs that Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha will be replaced, though his reappointment still requires legislative approval, with the next plenary session scheduled for Aug. 18.
Zelensky is set to meet with numerous military leaders and security figures on Friday in a bid to resolve the crisis.
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