Zelenskyy backs new acting defence minister over long-range operations experience and makes no mention of protests in his evening address

Alona Mazurenko - 16 July, 21:40

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, commenting on his decision to appoint Yevhen Khmara as acting Defence Minister, has made no mention of the mobilisation issues he had criticised ex- defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov for. The president also ignored the protests and public calls to bring Fedorov back to the ministry.

Source: Zelenskyy's evening address on 16 July

Quote: "Yevhen Khmara will serve as Acting Minister of Defence of Ukraine. He headed the SSU's Center of Special Operations Alpha, which has achieved the most effective results in eliminating the occupiers on the front. Alpha consistently ranks number one in the monthly results.

Khmara was responsible for the long-range operations of the Security Service of Ukraine. We agreed that Khmara will also oversee the long-range operations of the Security Forces – this is a priority.

He knows exactly what Ukraine needs and is also capable of maintaining control over the internal situation across the components of the defence forces. He has sufficient security experience to prevent disgraceful incidents."

Details: Zelenskyy added that he has already discussed the legal procedures with new Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi to ensure this appointment.

Zelenskyy earlier said it was right that Ukrainian citizens, even during wartime, are able to take part in peaceful demonstrations and express their views, adding that he had "not yet closed the issue" raised by them.

Background:

On 16 July, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, commenting on the changes at the Ministry of Defence, acknowledged that Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi had been unable to find common ground, and that problems on the battlefield, in brigades and with mobilisation had remained unresolved.
Zelenskyy subsequently said he had not yet submitted Ihor Klymenko's candidacy to parliament for the post of Defence Minister, but considered the former Interior Minister capable of overcoming the "shameful busification practices" during mobilisation. [Busification is the controversial practice of forced mobilisation in which recruitment officers detain men in public, often bundling them onto minibuses to transport them to enlistment offices – ed.]
Later in the evening, however, Zelenskyy said he would propose to parliament the appointment of Yevhen Khmara as Defence Minister. Khmara, who is currently acting head of the SSU, will carry out the duties of Ukraine's Defence Minister on the president's instruction.
On 16 July, former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Zelenskyy had not agreed to replace Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi. He said that all Defence Ministry proposals and initiatives on improving the military's performance had met with resistance.
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 are calling on the authorities to reinstate Fedorov in his post in the new government and not to hand the defence minister post over to Ihor Klymenko.

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