Ukraine's parliament approves new defense minister Yevhenii Khmara
Photo: Yevhenii Khmara (facebook.com/zelenskyy.official)
Ukraine’s parliament, during the parliamentary session broadcast, approved Yevhenii Khmara as defense minister with 312 votes. He had previously served as acting defense minister following the government reshuffle in July.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had submitted Khmara’s candidacy to parliament the day before.
Khmara’s address to parliament
Before the vote, Khmara addressed lawmakers and said he had been discharged from military service and was now a civilian.
“I stand before you as a civilian. I was discharged in accordance with Article 26 of the Law of Ukraine on Military Duty and Military Service,” he said.
He identified the following as his main priorities as defense minister:
- strengthening the front line and rapidly providing troops with weapons;
- deep- and mid-range strikes against Russian military and strategic targets;
- developing Ukraine’s defense industry and increasing weapons production;
- protecting and supporting military personnel, improving their training and establishing fair rules of service;
- strengthening cooperation between the president, parliament, government, General Staff, Defense Ministry, military, weapons manufacturers and international partners.
Khmara emphasized that Ukraine must seize the strategic initiative in the war, with Ukrainian weapons and long-range strikes playing a key role.
Cabinet reshuffle
The changes at the Defense Ministry followed a major government reshuffle announced by the president in July. After the previous Cabinet resigned, former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov also left his post.
Following Fedorov’s dismissal, Zelenskyy appointed Khmara as acting defense minister.
Fedorov’s dismissal sparked protests and rallies in his support. Fedorov himself said that, despite offers to take other senior government positions, he would return to government only as defense minister.
However, sources told RBC-Ukraine that the president is not currently prepared to reverse course on Fedorov’s return to the Defense Ministry. Zelenskyy’s team believes the rallies supporting the former defense chief will soon die down.
Sources close to the president said Zelenskyy considers the issue of the defense minister settled and that Yevhenii Khmara will lead the ministry.
Who is Khmara
Yevhenii Khmara is a career military officer and special forces operative. He served with the SBU’s Special Operations Center A from 2011 and became its commander in 2023.
He took part in combat operations in the Kyiv and Donetsk regions and personally led the operation to liberate Snake Island.
Khmara also participated in Operation Spiderweb and helped organize drone strikes against military targets deep inside Russia.
According to sources, under Khmara’s command, Special Operations Center A destroyed more than $5.5 billion worth of Russian military equipment, including more than 1,800 tanks.
Khmara is a recipient of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky and has been awarded the Order for Courage, Third Class, as well as the Cross of Military Merit.
Since January 5, 2026, he had served as acting head of the SBU. Following the Cabinet reshuffle, he took over as defense minister.
