Zelenskyy to replace NSDC secretary: Umerov's post to be taken by former Interior Minister

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to make changes to the leadership of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC). Current secretary Rustem Umerov will be removed from his post and replaced by former Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, presidential advisor Dmytro Lytvyn told journalists.

Lytvyn neither confirmed nor denied speculation that Umerov could be appointed as Ukraine's ambassador to the United States. He said there would be a separate conversation with Umerov and added that changes are being prepared in several embassies. The diplomatic reshuffle is expected closer to a major meeting with ambassadors scheduled for August.

These changes follow a recent cabinet reshuffle, during which the government was headed by Serhiy Koretsky instead of Yulia Svyrydenko. Several ministers from the previous lineup lost their posts, including Mykhailo Fedorov. Initially, Zelenskyy planned to appoint then-Interior Minister Klymenko as Defense Minister, with Ivan Vyhovsky taking over the Interior Ministry. However, these plans sparked widespread public outrage and protests near the Presidential Office in Kyiv and other cities.

Amid the protests, the president abandoned the original idea and appointed Yevhen Khmaru, who had been acting head of the Security Service, as acting Defense Minister.