Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has submitted formal nominations to parliament for a new defense minister and the reappointment of the current foreign minister, Ukrainian lawmakers reported on August 18.
Lawmakers Oleksiy Honcharenko of the European Solidarity party and Yaroslav Zheleznyak of the Holos party confirmed that the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament in Kyiv, received the presidential submissions. The official filings request the appointment of Yevhen Khmara as minister of defense and the reappointment of Andrii Sybiha as minister of foreign affairs.
Zheleznyak said that parliamentary voting on both ministerial candidates is scheduled to take place tomorrow.
Parliamentary Submissions and Interim Leadership
Under Ukrainian law, cabinet posts are subject to parliamentary confirmation, with the president holding the authority to nominate the ministers of defense and foreign affairs. The defense minister oversees administrative and logistical operations for the armed forces, while the foreign minister directs diplomatic strategy and international relations.
Khmara has been performing the duties of interim defense minister since July 16, when Zelenskyy instructed him to take temporary charge of the ministry. At the time of the interim appointment, Zelenskyy announced that he would formally propose Khmara for confirmation when lawmakers gathered in the session hall of the Verkhovna Rada in the second half of August.
Sybiha currently serves as Ukraine's minister of foreign affairs. Zelenskyy's submission seeks to keep Sybiha in his position to maintain continuity in the country's diplomatic leadership.
Public Protests and Polling on Military Leadership
The movement to replace the defense minister follows weeks of civic unrest. Protests against Zelenskyy's decision to dismiss former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov have been ongoing in Kyiv and numerous other cities across Ukraine since the morning of July 16.
Honcharenko belongs to the European Solidarity faction, while Zheleznyak represents the Holos faction. Both opposition parties closely monitor government appointments and legislative proceedings in the Verkhovna Rada.
The personnel decisions coincide with public debate over government changes, as reflected in survey data released on August 6 by Socis, a Kyiv-based polling organization. The survey, conducted between July 28 and August 2, showed that 39.1 percent of respondents held a negative attitude toward Fedorov's dismissal from the defense ministry, compared to 7.7 percent who viewed his removal positively.
The survey also examined public attitudes toward military command. In contrast to Fedorov's removal, 40.6 percent of respondents expressed a positive view toward the potential dismissal of Oleksandr Syrskyi from his position as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Meanwhile, 7.7 percent of respondents stated they had a negative attitude toward Syrskyi's dismissal.
