At a meeting on January 13, the Verkhovna Rada dismissed two ministers — the heads of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Digital Affairs Denys Shmyhal and Mykhailo Fedorov, as well as the head of the SBU Vasyl Malyuk.
This became known from the broadcast of the meeting.
265 MPs voted for Shmyhalʼs dismissal, 270 — for Fedorov, and 235 — for Malyuk.
Before the vote, Shmyhal reported on his work for six months as Minister of Defense. He announced a significant increase in the share of domestic weapons on the front: 76% of weapons were purchased from Ukrainian manufacturers within the framework of centralized procurement (in 2024, it was 46%). In addition, the army was supplied with 2.2 million drones of various types, including 1.8 million FPV drones.
Before the vote, Fedorov said that 23 million Ukrainians currently use "Diia". As for telecoms, during the work of the Ministry of Digital Affairs headed by Fedorov, among other things, it was possible to ensure 97% 4G coverage (in 2019 it was 76%) and connect 8 thousand villages and towns to the Internet for the first time.
The boy did not come to the meeting. The opposition demanded that his release be postponed and a conciliation council be held, but the Council still held a vote.
The president previously reported that he had proposed Fedorov to head the Defense Ministry and Shmyhal to head the Energy Ministry. The Verkhovna Rada is expected to vote on both appointments later today.
Malyuk will remain in the SBU system, but it is not yet known in what position. The duties of the SBU head are currently being temporarily performed by the head of the Special Operations Center "A" Yevhen Khmara. Earlier, a source in the Presidentʼs Office told Babel that Zelensky wants Malyuk to focus directly on combat operations.
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