Zelenskyy appoints chief negotiator Umerov to lead foreign intelligence
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has placed Rustem Umerov, the country's chief negotiator and former defense minister, in charge of the Foreign Intelligence Service as part of a broader security leadership reshuffle. Umerov's previous role will be filled by Ihor Klymenko.
Rustem Umerov, Ukraine's chief negotiator and a former defense minister, has been appointed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to head the Foreign Intelligence Service, according to a presidential decree issued Monday.
Umerov's current position as secretary of the National Security and Defense Council will be taken over by Ihor Klymenko, who previously served as minister of internal affairs. The changes were confirmed in separate decrees published by the presidential office. Lawmakers had regarded Klymenko as the leading candidate to replace the ousted defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov.
The appointment forms part of a larger overhaul of Ukraine's security leadership that Zelenskyy first announced in July. That reshuffle saw the dismissal of Fedorov, Commander-in-Chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, and other senior officials. At the time, Zelenskyy said Ukraine needed "more strength" in its wartime leadership.
Under the new arrangement, Umerov will oversee a broader portfolio encompassing diplomacy, defense, negotiations with the United States and other designated partners, as well as talks aimed at ending the war. As a key figure in Ukraine-Russia negotiations, Umerov will also continue to supervise work on the EU-Ukraine Drone Deal.
