Ukrainian parliament approves key defense, foreign minister appointments

Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, approved nominations of Yevhen Khmara as defense minister and reappointed Andriy Sybiha as foreign minister.

According to figures shown during a live broadcast of the Rafa session, 312 lawmakers backed Khmara’s appointment, while 266 voted in favor of Sybiha.

Both ministers took the oath in the Rada chamber following the votes.

The approvals formally filled two key government posts following last month’s Cabinet reshuffle.

Khmara had been serving as acting defense minister since July after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Mykhailo Fedorov from the post. Before moving to the Defense Ministry, Khmara served as acting head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).

Sybiha, who had previously served as foreign minister, was appointed acting head of the Foreign Ministry in July and has now been formally reinstated.

The appointments come amid a broader reshuffling of Ukraine’s government and growing debate over governance.

Fedorov, who was dismissed as defense minister in July, called Tuesday for elections to be held even during the conflict and described corruption as a symptom of what he called a systemic governance crisis.