President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky presented to the Verkhovna Rada the proposal to appoint Evgeny Khmara as the country's defense minister. Currently, Khmara heads the department as an acting minister.
This is reported by "RBK-Ukraine", referring to the Telegram channel of "Golos" party deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak.
Later, the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, confirmed that the parliament received the president's proposal regarding the appointment of Khmara. According to him, it will be discussed soon.
The vote on the appointment of the Minister of Defense is planned to be held on August 19.
In July, during the changes in the composition of the government headed by Sergey Koretsky, the positions of the ministers of defense and foreign affairs were left vacant. According to the Constitution of Ukraine, the president of the country nominates the candidates of the heads of these two departments.
After the resignation of Mikhail Fedorov as the Minister of Defense, the option of appointing Igor Klimenko to that position was discussed, but it was criticized. On July 20, Yevheni Khmara was appointed acting minister of defense.
According to the sources of "RBK-Ukraine", the possibility of changing the legislation was also discussed in the governmental circles, so that the serviceman operating in the conditions of martial law could lead the Ministry of Defense. In the end, it was decided that Khmara will be released from military service in order to be appointed as a minister.
Evgeni Khmara is a professional soldier and special forces. Since 2011, he served in the "A" special operations center of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), and in 2023 he became the head of the unit.
Khmara took part in combat operations in Kyiv and Donetsk regions. He led the special operation for the de-occupation of Snake Island, participated in the "Spider Web" operation, as well as in the organization of drone strikes against military and infrastructural facilities deep in Russian territory. Airports, oil refineries and ammunition depots are mentioned among them.
According to "RBK-Ukraine", under the leadership of Khmara, the "A" special operations center of the SBU destroyed more than 5.5 billion dollars worth of Russian military equipment, including more than 1,800 tanks.
Khmara was awarded the Order of Bogdan Khmelnytskyi, the III degree Order "For Courage" and the "Cross of Combat Merit".
From January 5, 2026, he performed the duties of the head of the security service of Ukraine, and later he was appointed acting minister of defense.
