Audit of partner agreements, war funding, air defence: Zelenskyy outlines expectations of Defence Ministry under new head

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has introduced the new defence minister, Yevhenii Khmara, and outlined the priority tasks for the Ministry of Defence.

Source: Zelenskyy on social media

Quote: "I expect the Defence Ministry and our defence and security forces to work together. It is important to conduct an audit of all the agreements with our partners: what has been implemented and what is still to be implemented. Air defence and anti-ballistic systems are a key priority, especially ahead of the winter.

Yevhenii Khmara has extensive experience of our deep-strike operations, going back to his time at the Security Service of Ukraine. I expect there will be more operations, and I am confident that Yevhenii will continue to be personally involved in this area."

Details: Regarding mobilisation, military contracts and rotations, Zelenskyy stressed that real decisions and real proposals are needed. He said he expects systematic joint work in this area and a more humane and consistent approach to resolving organisational issues within the armed forces.

The president also said that one of the greatest challenges at present is funding, primarily in Ukraine's defence sector.

"The necessary resources must be found. And I believe this is the greatest challenge we have faced. The war has become more expensive, and that's a fact. More resources are needed… This must also be a joint effort by the state as a whole," Zelenskyy said.

Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara noted that he fully understands the president's objective of accelerating Ukrainian ballistic and anti-ballistic production programmes.

"The armed forces need weapons. The supply system has to operate at the pace of the war. We must protect our skies from Russian ballistic missiles," the new defence minister stressed.

Background:

• On 19 August, the Ukrainian Parliament appointed Yevhenii Khmara, former acting head of the SSU, as Ukraine's new defence minister with 312 votes.
• Activists who have been protesting since 16 July in support of Mykhailo Fedorov's reinstatement as defence minister reacted negatively to the news.
• The Ministry of Defence has stated that Khmara was discharged from military service under Article 26.5.3(e) of the Law on Military Duty and Military Service.

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