On Tuesday, August 18, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a proposal to appoint Major General Yevhen Khmara as Minister of Defense of Ukraine. At the same time, the law "On National Security of Ukraine" stipulates that the head of the Ministry of Defense must be a civilian, so Khmara must be discharged from military service before the vote, UNN reports.
Details
On Tuesday, August 18, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a draft resolution "On the appointment of Khmara Y.L. as Minister of Defense of Ukraine."
"In accordance with paragraph 10 of part one of Article 106 and part four of Article 114 of the Constitution of Ukraine, I submit a proposal to appoint Yevhen Khmara as Minister of Defense of Ukraine," the resolution states.
Zelenskyy's representative in the Verkhovna Rada, Halyna Mykhailiuk, will present the proposal at the plenary session.
What is wrong with Khmara's appointment
Yevhen Khmara is a Ukrainian military commander, major general, and former head of the Alpha Special Operations Center of the Security Service of Ukraine.
Under Article 15 of the law "On National Security of Ukraine," the Minister of Defense is appointed by the Verkhovna Rada upon the submission of the President of Ukraine from among civilian persons, which already makes Khmara's appointment as minister impossible, as it would contradict the law.
However, Government Resolution No. 671 of November 26, 2014, states that the Ministry of Defense is headed by a minister who is appointed and dismissed by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine upon the submission of the President of Ukraine.
In addition, according to Resolution No. 1 of January 10, 2019, the government amended Resolution No. 671, establishing that the ministry is headed by a minister from among civilians.
That is, it turns out that the government did not directly add the wording "from among civilian persons" to Resolution No. 671 in the description of the minister's position itself.
It should be noted that under the principles of the rule of law, it is the law—not a government resolution—that applies, and therefore the Minister of Defense must necessarily be a civilian.
In that case, there are several options for appointing Khmara:
- quickly amend the law by removing the provision "from among civilian persons";
- Khmara is discharged from military service;
- the Rada appoints Khmara in violation of the law.
By the way, in 2014, the Verkhovna Rada appointed Stepan Poltorak as Minister of Defense of Ukraine, who at that time was a colonel general. However, after the relevant law was adopted, Poltorak was discharged from military service so that he could continue to head the Ministry of Defense.
According to a source cited by UNN, on Wednesday, August 19, at 9:30 a.m., a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence will take place, after which the Conciliatory Council is expected to amend the agenda regarding the submission of this appointment.
"I expect a civilian, Yevhenii Leonidovych Khmara, to stand at the rostrum of the Verkhovna Rada, with no violations of the National Security Law," the source added.
Member of Parliament Yaroslav Zhelezniak reported that Khmara would already be a civilian by the time the vote on his candidacy for the position of Minister of Defense took place.
His discharge from military service is being carried out in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On Military Duty and Military Service" (Article 26), specifically due to organizational measures concerning senior officers.
"He confirmed that all the necessary documents have already been signed. So, as of now, he is a military serviceman, but that will change very soon," Zhelezniak said.
What is known about Yevhen Khmara
Yevhen Khmara has served in the Security Service of Ukraine's Special Operations Center "A" since 2011.
Before joining the SBU, Khmara, according to Member of Parliament Roman Kostenko, served in the Omega special unit and specialized in mine and explosive ordnance operations.
Khmara took part in combat operations during the Anti-Terrorist Operation in eastern Ukraine. After the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, he carried out combat missions during the defense and liberation of the Kyiv region, and later worked in the eastern direction.
According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) and Ukrainian media, Khmara also took part in organizing the operation to liberate Zmiinyi Island in 2022. He himself called the island’s return to Ukrainian control an important military, economic, and psychological victory.
Career in the SSU
In April 2023, the president appointed Khmara head of the SSU’s Center for Special Operations to Combat Terrorism and Protect Participants in Criminal Proceedings and Law Enforcement Officers. After the reorganization, the unit was renamed the SSU’s Center for Special Operations "A".
In August 2023, Khmara was awarded the military rank of brigadier general, and in June 2024 — major general.
In August 2025, he headed the reorganized SSU Center for Special Operations "A".
On January 5, 2026, the president instructed Khmara to temporarily perform the duties of head of the Security Service of Ukraine. He replaced Vasyl Maliuk in the position, who continued working within the SSU system and focused on combat and asymmetric operations.
Work of the Special Operations Center "A"
According to the SSU, under Khmara’s leadership, Center "A" was among the top three most effective units of the Defense Forces in terms of the amount of Russian equipment and personnel destroyed using unmanned aerial vehicles.
The Security Service stated that the value of the Russian equipment destroyed by the Center’s fighters exceeded $5.5 billion. The figure did not include the results of Operation "Spiderweb," which also involved operators from the Special Operations Center "A." These estimates cannot be independently verified under wartime conditions.
The unit took part in long-range strikes against Russian military facilities, including airfields, ammunition depots, arsenals, oil-refining enterprises, and factories associated with the production of drones and guided aerial bombs.
Khmara publicly stated that SSU special forces were among the first in the Defense Forces to begin using FPV drones on a large scale. According to him, the Center began developing this area in 2022, since drones made it possible to significantly increase the number of targets hit in the tactical depth.
He also emphasized that special-unit commanders should take part in combat missions together with their subordinates in order to understand the situation on the battlefield and maintain the trust of their personnel.
It should be recalled
On July 14, the Verkhovna Rada dismissed Head of Government Yulia Svyrydenko, which automatically led to the resignation of the entire government.
On July 15, President Zelenskyy announced that he had decided to dismiss Mykhailo Fedorov as defense minister. Former acting head of the SSU Yevhenii Khmara was appointed acting head in his place.
Later, protests took place in many Ukrainian cities over Fedorov’s dismissal. Activists demanded not only that he be returned to the Ministry of Defense, but also that the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine be replaced.
Later, Oleksandr Syrskyi announced his resignation as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Mykhailo Drapatyi became the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.