As of today, July 20, Yevhen Khmara is officially serving as acting Minister of Defense of Ukraine.

The corresponding order No. 723-r, dated July 17, has been published on the Cabinet of Ministers’ website, according to Ukrinform.

“To temporarily assign the duties of Minister of Defense of Ukraine to Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Yevhen Khmara,” the document states.

The decree takes effect on July 20, 2026.

As reported by Ukrinform, on July 14, the Verkhovna Rada approved the resignation of Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. Along with her, the entire government automatically resigned.

On July 16, the Verkhovna Rada approved the President’s nomination of Serhiy Koretskyi as Prime Minister, as well as the newly appointed Prime Minister’s proposal for the composition of the new Cabinet of Ministers, with the exception of the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, whose nominations are submitted to the Rada under the President’s quota.

President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Yevhen Khmara to serve as acting Minister of Defense of Ukraine.

Yevhen Khmara had served in the “A” Special Operations Center of the Security Service of Ukraine since 2011 and was appointed head of “Alfa” in 2023.

Since January 2026, Khmara has been temporarily serving as acting head of the SSU.

At the start of Russia’s full-scale aggression, Major General Khmara participated in the liberation of the Kyiv region, and after the de-occupation of the capital region, he fought the enemy in the Donetsk region.

Yevhen Khmara has been honored with a number of departmental and state awards. He is a full Knight of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky (1st–3rd class), has been awarded the Order “For Courage” (3rd class), and has received the Presidential Distinction “Cross of Combat Merit.”

Archive photo: brave1ua