Zelenskyy submits picks for defense, foreign minister posts

According to MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has submitted nominations to the Verkhovna Rada to appoint Yevhen Khmara as the new defense minister and Andriy Sybiha as the foreign minister. The president has officially presented these nominations for the critical positions of defense and foreign affairs to the parliament.

Zhelezniak reported this development on Telegram on Tuesday. However, it is noteworthy that the corresponding presidential submissions for these ministerial roles are not yet registered on the parliament's website. As previously mentioned, the Verkhovna Rada had previously approved a new Cabinet of Ministers on July 16, following the appointment of Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky.

Nevertheless, the crucial positions of defense minister and foreign minister under the president's quota remained unfilled, as no nominations had been submitted by the government. Since July 20, Yevhen Khmara has been temporarily assigned the duties of defense minister, having been relieved of his temporary responsibilities as head of Ukraine's Security Service and chief of the SBU's Special Operations Center A. Similarly, Andrii Sybiha has been temporarily designated as foreign minister, having previously headed the foreign affairs agency in the previous government.