Poklad to become acting head of Ukraine's Security Service – UP sources
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16 July, 19:16
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Oleksandr Poklad. Photo: Office of the President
Oleksandr Poklad, First Deputy Head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), is to become the acting head of the SSU.
Source: Ukrainska Pravda sources in Zelenskyy's team
Details: Earlier today, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he would propose the appointment of Yevhen Khmara as defence minister to Parliament. Khmara, who is currently acting head of the SSU, will carry out the duties of Ukraine's defence minister on the president's instruction.
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Background:
- On 16 July, former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Zelenskyy had not agreed to replace Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, and that all Defence Ministry proposals and initiatives on improving the military's performance had met with resistance.
- Commenting on the upcoming changes at the Ministry of Defence, Zelenskyy acknowledged that Fedorov and Syrskyi had been unable to find common ground, and that problems on the battlefield, in brigades and with mobilisation had remained unresolved.
- Protests in support of Fedorov are taking place near the President's Office in Kyiv and in a number of other cities across Ukraine. The protesters called on the authorities to reinstate Fedorov in his post in the new government and not to hand the post of defence minister over to Ihor Klymenko.
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