Zelensky Presents Candidates for Ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs to the Rada

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has submitted Evgeny Khmar to the Supreme Rada for appointment as the Minister of Defense. Khmar is currently leading the ministry in an acting capacity.

This was reported by RBK-Ukraine, referring to the Telegram channel of Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a member of the ‘Golos’ party. Later, the President of the Supreme Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, confirmed that the parliament had received the president's proposal regarding Khmar's appointment. He stated that it would be discussed soon.

A vote on the appointment of the Defense Minister is expected to take place on August 19. In July, during the changes to the government led by Sergey Koretsky, the positions of defense and foreign ministers remained vacant. According to the Constitution of Ukraine, the president proposes candidates for the heads of these two ministries.

After the resignation of Mikhail Fedorov from the position of Minister of Defense, the possibility of appointing Igor Klimenko to that position was discussed but faced criticism. On July 20, Evgeny Khmar was appointed as acting Minister of Defense.

According to sources from RBK-Ukraine, there has also been discussion within the government circles about the possibility of changing legislation so that a serving military officer can lead the Ministry of Defense during martial law. Ultimately, it was decided that Khmar would be released from military service to be appointed as minister.

Evgeny Khmar is a professional military officer and special forces operator. Since 2011, he has served in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) special operations center, and in 2023 he became the head of that unit.

Khmar has participated in combat operations in Kyiv and the Donetsk regions. He led the special operation to de-occupy Snake Island, participated in the ‘Spider’ operation, and organized drone strikes against military and infrastructural targets deep within Russian territory. These included airports, oil refineries, and ammunition depots.

According to RBK-Ukraine, under Khmar's leadership, the SBU's special operations center has destroyed Russian military equipment worth more than $5.5 billion, including over 1,800 tanks.

Khmar has been awarded the Bohdan Khmelnytsky Order, the III degree Order for Courage, and the Combat Merit Cross.

Since January 5, 2026, he has been performing the duties of the head of the Security Service of Ukraine and was later appointed as acting Minister of Defense.