Zelenskyy submits no defense, foreign minister nominees as parliament returns
Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada had not received President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s nominees for defense and foreign ministers as of Aug. 18, leaving parliament unable to vote on either appointment.
On August 18, Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, returned from recess without receiving President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's nominations for defense and foreign ministers, leaving the body unable to vote on the appointments. Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk addressed the issue during a session when lawmaker Dmytro Kostiuk inquired about the status of the nominations.
Kostiuk asked whether Zelenskyy had formally nominated Yevhenii Khmara for defense minister and Andrii Sybiha for foreign minister. Stefanchuk replied that as of now, parliament had not received the nominations for either position. Without formal nominations from the president, the Verkhovna Rada cannot proceed to votes on the two appointments.
The defense and foreign affairs posts had remained unresolved because Zelenskyy had not submitted the nominees to lawmakers. The government had named Khmara as acting defense minister and Sybiha as acting foreign minister on July 17. Lawmakers returned to the chamber on August 18 but would not consider either appointment that day, according to Suspilne.
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