Yevhen Khmara
Ukraine's acting defence minister, fifth since 2023, with no confirmed permanent nomination yet.
Yevhen Khmara has run Ukraine's Defence Ministry in an acting capacity since 16 July 2026, Kyiv's fifth minister since 2023; MPs argue his SBU background breaches the law requiring a civilian in the post, with a confirmation vote unlikely before mid-August.
Last refreshed: 3 August 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Why did Zelenskyy hand Ukraine's Defence Ministry to an intelligence chief rather than a politician?
Timeline for Yevhen Khmara
Remained only acting Defence Minister as parliament's recess continued
Russia-Ukraine War 2026: Gunman shoots four Odesa draft officersMentioned in: Zelenskyy swaps out his top general
Russia-Ukraine War 2026Legal fight over acting defence chief
Russia-Ukraine War 2026Took on the Defence Minister's duties in an acting capacity
Russia-Ukraine War 2026: SBU officer Khmara takes defence dutiesBackground
Yevhen Khmara has served as Ukraine's acting Defence Minister since mid-July 2026, the fifth person to hold or act in the post since 2023. He previously commanded the Security Service of Ukraine's (SBU) Alpha Special Operations Centre, the service's elite counter-terrorism and special-operations unit, before rising to acting head of the SBU itself.
His appointment broke with precedent by putting an intelligence and special-forces officer, rather than a politician, in charge of the ministry; Zelenskyy pointed to Khmara's experience in technological and long-range strike operations as the rationale. That background is also the source of the legal challenge to his tenure, since Ukrainian law requires a civilian in the post.
Khmara's ministry inherits some of the war's hardest domestic files, recruitment and brigade formation among them, at a moment when conscription itself has become politically volatile.
Khmara's appointment faces legal challenge
Zelenskyy assigned Khmara, then acting head of Ukraine's SBU, to perform the Defence Minister's duties on 16 July 2026, a day after sacking Mykhailo Fedorov and after Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko turned the post down. Zelenskyy cited Khmara's record in long-range strike operations, an unusual choice putting an intelligence and special-forces background in charge of the ministry rather than a political one.
A cabinet order formalised the acting role on 20 July, but Ukraine's 2018 Law on National Security requires a civilian Defence Minister, and several MPs argue a serving security officer cannot hold the post without retiring or a change in law. The Verkhovna Rada is not expected to vote before mid-August.
