Zelensky nominates Khmara and Sybiha for defense and foreign minister posts

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has officially nominated Yevhenii Khmara as defense minister and Andrii Sybiha as foreign minister to the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, according to lawmakers.

Yaroslav Zhelezniak, a member of parliament from the Holos party, announced the submissions on Telegram. "Zelensky has submitted Khmara and Sybiha's nominations to parliament," he wrote. Irina Gerashchenko, another lawmaker, confirmed the nominations had been received by the Verkhovna Rada.

According to Zhelezniak, meetings between parliamentary factions and the candidates are scheduled to begin at 17:00 on Tuesday. The candidates are expected to meet with parliamentary factions on Tuesday, with their candidacies to be reviewed by relevant parliamentary committees on Wednesday. The full parliament will subsequently vote on both nominations.

Khmara has served as acting defense minister since July 20, when the government temporarily assigned him to the post. Prior to that role, he served as acting head of the Security Service of Ukraine. Sybiha has headed the Foreign Ministry and continues in that capacity pending parliamentary confirmation of his nomination.

The two ministerial positions had remained unfilled under the president's quota following the Verkhovna Rada's approval of a new Cabinet of Ministers on July 16 on the motion of newly appointed Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky. At that time, no nominations for the defense and foreign affairs minister posts had been submitted.

The parliamentary process for confirming both nominees is expected to conclude by the end of the week, with committee reviews scheduled for Wednesday and a full parliamentary vote to follow.