Zelenskyy considered at least three candidates for post of defence minister

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy considered at least three candidates for the position of the defence minister: Ihor Klymenko, Minister of Internal Affairs; Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation and Minister of Digital Transformation; and Oleksandr Kamyshin, his advisor on strategic issues and former head of the Ministry of Strategic Industries.

Source: Ukrainska Pravda article

Quote from the article: "The defence minister should be someone who lives and breathes war 24/7, who understands the real state of affairs, who is physically capable of handling a budget of this scale, who knows how to streamline management processes and, most importantly, who can keep the defence secrets of various influential groups in power confidential and has good relations with both Zelenskyy and Yermak."

Details: Ukrainska Pravda has found that Zelenskyy considered at least three candidates for the post of defence minister: Klymenko, Fedorov and Kamyshin.

Interior Minister Klymenko has declined the president's offer. The ideas of offering this post to Fedorov and Kamyshin have been abandoned due to their lack of good relations with Andrii Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.

Quote from the article: "Without effective working communication with the head of the Office of the President, it is difficult for ministers to work. This is evidenced by the example of Oleksandr Kubrakov, former deputy prime minister for restoration, who went from being the president's ‘favourite’ to an outcast (not without Yermak's involvement)."

Details: Only one person met all the requirements – Denys Shmyhal.

With Shmyhal's appointment as head of the Ministry of Defence, the government plans to merge the Defence Ministry with the Ministry of Strategic Industries.

Background:

• During a press conference in Rome on 10 July 2025, President Zelenskyy announced that he is considering the current Minister of Defence, Rustem Umierov, for the position of Ukraine's ambassador to the United States of America.
• On 14 July, Zelenskyy proposed that First Deputy Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko become the head of the Ukrainian government, with current Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal taking the position of minister of defence.
• Shmyhal submitted his letter of resignation to the parliament on 15 July. The dismissal of the prime minister means the resignation of the entire government.
• Ukraine’s parliament is to consider the prime minister's resignation at a meeting on 16 July. The vote on the appointment of the new head of government and ministers is scheduled for 17 July.

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