The government appointed Yevheniy Khmara as acting Minister of Defense and Andriy Sybiha as acting Minister of Foreign Affairs.
This was written by the Prime Minister of Ukraine Serhiy Koretsky.
Yesterday, President Volodymyr Zelensky tasked Khmara with fulfilling the duties of Minister of Defense. Prior to that, he was the acting head of SBU after Vasyl Malyuk resigned on January 5. Yevhen Khmara also headed the SBUʼs Special Operations Center "A". Andriy Sybiha was also the Minister of Foreign Affairs before that — since September 2024.
Government changes and protests
On July 12, Zelensky reported the resignation of Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and reported that the composition of the government and the leadership of law enforcement agencies would be renewed. And on July 14, the Verkhovna Rada dismissed Svyrydenko from her post.
On July 15, Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced his resignation. This sparked a wave of protests on July 16. Participants gathered in Lviv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Odesa, Kryvyi Rih, Rivne, Cherkasy, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, and Ivano-Frankivsk. Protests will continue today.
At the same time, during a conversation with journalists, Fedorov spoke about the conflict with Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky, who allegedly gave Fedorov an ultimatum and blocked the Ministry of Defenseʼs initiatives. At the same time, Zelensky stated at a briefing that Fedorov and Syrsky could not agree, and the conflict between them was "systemic".
On the same day, 289 MPs voted to appoint Koretsky as Prime Minister of Ukraine. Prior to that, Koretsky was the Chairman of the Board of “Naftogaz”, which he headed in 2025.
The Verkhovna Rada then voted to appoint ministers to the new government of Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky, except for the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Ihor Klymenko, who was the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and who the media reported would become the new Minister of Defense, was today offered the position of Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council by Zelensky.
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