Ukraine's parliament confirms Khmara as new defence minister

Ukraine's parliament confirmed Yevhenii Khmara as the country's new defence minister on Tuesday, 19 August, with 312 lawmakers voting in favour.

The nomination was presented from the parliamentary rostrum by Halyna Mykhailiuk, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's representative in the Verkhovna Rada. She said Zelenskyy currently regards Khmara as the best-suited candidate for the post.

Opposition lawmakers voiced frustration, saying they would rather have heard the reasoning behind the choice directly from Zelenskyy.

Question over military status

Since Ukrainian law requires the defence minister to be a civilian, MPs pressed Khmara on his status. He explained that he had been discharged from military service under Article 26 of Ukraine's law "On Military Duty and Military Service", which covers organisational measures affecting senior officers.

In his address, Khmara laid out his priorities for the role, including compelling Russia to accept a just peace through military pressure and effective use of technology. He pledged that Ukraine's weapons supply would grow and their strikes would become more accurate. He then took the oath of office from the rostrum.

Background

Zelenskyy submitted Khmara's nomination for defence minister, alongside Andrii Sybiha's nomination for foreign minister, to parliament on 18 August. The following day, the parliamentary defence committee unanimously endorsed Khmara's candidacy, with all 15 members voting in support.

Protests backing former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov have continued in Ukraine for more than a month.