Ukraine's Rada approves Khmara as defense minister, Sybiha as FM

Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, on Tuesday approved Yevhen Khmara as defense minister and reappointed Andriy Sybiha as foreign minister, with 312 lawmakers backing Khmara's nomination and 266 voting in favor of Sybiha, according to a live broadcast of the parliamentary session. Both ministers took the oath in the Rada chamber following the votes.

Ministerial backgrounds

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, he served as acting head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) — Ukraine's main security agency — bringing extensive intelligence experience to the defense portfolio.

Sybiha, who had previously served as foreign minister, was appointed acting head of the Foreign Ministry in July and has now been formally reinstated. His reappointment provides continuity in diplomatic leadership as Ukraine maintains its foreign policy priorities during the war.

Governance debate

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