Ukrainian government appoints Khmara as acting defence minister and Sybiha as acting foreign minister

The Cabinet of Ministers (Ukrainian government) has appointed Yevhenii Khmara as acting minister of defence and Andrii Sybiha as acting minister of foreign affairs.

Source: Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi

Quote: "In agreement with the President, the government has appointed Yevhenii Khmara as acting minister of defence and Andrii Sybiha as acting minister of foreign affairs."

Details: According to Koretskyi, these decisions are intended to ensure continuity in defence and foreign policy.

He also announced a restructuring of government ministries in line with decisions adopted by the Ukrainian parliament.

The government is reinstating the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and establishing a separate Ministry for Communities, Territories and Internally Displaced Persons.

The Cabinet has also split responsibility for the economy and the environment, as well as for recovery, infrastructure and transport.

Background:

• Commenting on the upcoming changes at the Defence Ministry on 16 July, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged that Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi have been unable to work together effectively and that problems on the battlefield, in military brigades and with mobilisation remain unresolved.
• On 16 July, Zelenskyy said he had not yet submitted the nomination of former interior minister Ihor Klymenko as defence minister to parliament, but he believes Klymenko is capable of dealing with the problem of "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.]

• However, late in the evening Zelenskyy stated that he would propose to parliament the appointment of Yevhenii Khmara as Minister of Defence. Khmara, who is currently acting head of the Security Service of Ukraine, will perform the duties of Defence Minister on Zelenskyy's instructions.
• On 16 July, Fedorov said he called for Syrskyi to be replaced, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not agree. According to Fedorov, all the Defence Ministry's proposals to improve the armed forces' operations on the front line encountered resistance from the commander-in-chief.
• Protests have been taking place for a second day in support of Fedorov near the Office of the President in Kyiv and in a number of other cities across the country. Participants are calling on the authorities to reinstate Fedorov in the new government.
• Zelenskyy said it is right that Ukrainian citizens, even during wartime, are able to take to the streets in peaceful protests and express their views, adding that he has "not yet drawn a final line" on the issue they have raised.

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