Ukrainian government dismisses all deputy defence ministers and ministry's state secretary

This was announced by the representative of the Cabinet of Ministers in the Ukrainian Parliament Taras Melnychuk.

Thus, after the change of the head of the ministry, deputy ministers of defence Volodymyr Havrylov, Rostyslav Zamlynskyi, Hanna Maliar, Denys Sharapov, and Andriy Shevchenko were dismissed.

In addition, Vitaliy Deynega, Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitalisation, and Kostyantyn Vashchenko, State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, were dismissed.

Subsequently, Ukrainian media cited high-ranking government sources as saying that all the deputies had written in their resignations voluntarily following a request from the newly elected head of the Ministry of Defence, Rustem Umerov. They noted that those dismissed would not return to their posts.

Consultations on candidates for deputy defence minister are currently underway. In addition, a source close to the Ministry of Defence noted that the ministry is "undergoing a complete renewal".

Changes in the Ministry of Defence: what is known

On 5 September, Ukrainian parliament supported the resignation of Oleksii Reznikov as Ukrainian Defence Minister. According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ministry of Defence needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society as a whole.

A day later, MP Oleksiy Honcharenko said that after the dismissal of Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov, three of his deputies had written letters of resignation. In particular, it was about Volodymyr Havrylov, Vitaliy Deynega and Andriy Shevchenko.

However, this statement was denied by one of the officials of the Ministry of Defence, Deynega. He noted that a certain number of people in Ukraine wanted him to be removed from office. According to the Ministry of Defence official, over the past six months, he has been "a bone in the throat of a whole tangle of very different interests".

On 6 September, the Ukrainian parliament approved the appointment of Rustem Umerov as Minister of Defence. Previously, he was the head of the State Property Fund.

According to him, as head of the Defence Ministry, he will implement NATO standards and digitalise military records, including the military registration and enlistment office.