From general to civilian: Khmara agrees to leave military service to head Defence Ministry – Ukrainska Pravda

Roman Romaniuk, Natalia Bodnar, Tetiana Kryvishyn, Anastasia Prots — 18 August, 18:13

Yevhenii Khmara. Photo: Ministry of Defence on Facebook

Yevhenii Khmara, acting Defence Minister of Ukraine, has agreed to leave military service in order to meet legal requirements stipulating that only a civilian can head the Ministry of Defence.

Source: Ukrainska Pravda article A general in a civilian post: the workaround that will enable Khmara to succeed Fedorov at the Defence Ministry

Details: Sources told Ukrainska Pravda that Khmara has agreed to leave military service and will likely enter the vote in the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) on his appointment as defence minister as a civilian.

Khmara, a serving officer holding the rank of general, had been firmly opposed to leaving military service. Ukrainska Pravda has learned that the President's Office has managed to persuade him to change his mind.

Before Khmara's decision to leave the service, various options were being considered that would have allowed him to be appointed minister while remaining a serviceman. A source said that last week Servant of the People faction leader Davyd Arakhamiia attempted to push through legislative changes that would enable a serviceman to head the Defence Ministry, but the idea was later abandoned.

Quote from the source: "Davyd was running around with this amendment last week – they wanted to change the law so that a serviceman could be defence minister. They tried to find a way to squeeze it in somewhere, but then it all suddenly went quiet, and now no one's talking about any amendment."

For reference: Under Ukrainian law, only a civilian may hold the post of defence minister. Khmara is a Ukrainian military commander and a major general in the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU).

Background:

On 12 July, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a Cabinet reshuffle and changes to the heads of law enforcement agencies. On 14 July, the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) approved Yuliia Svyrydenko's resignation as prime minister, a decision which entailed the resignation of the entire government.
Public discontent has grown over what many regard as the unjustified dismissal of Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. Since 16 July, protests have been held in cities across Ukraine calling for him to be reinstated.
Zelenskyy offered Fedorov a number of other posts, but he turned them down, saying he wanted to focus his efforts on continuing the reform of the Defence Ministry.
Zelenskyy put Yevhenii Khmara temporarily in charge of the Defence Ministry. Khmara had served as acting head of the Security Service of Ukraine since Vasyl Maliuk's resignation.
On 18 August, Zelenskyy submitted a nomination to parliament for Yevhenii Khmara to be appointed as defence minister and Andrii Sybiha as foreign minister.

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