MELITOPOL, August 19. /TASS/. It was Vladimir Zelensky’s Western patrons who appointed Yevgeny Khmara as defense minister, not Zelensky, Sergey Yurchenko, a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Zaporozhye Region, told TASS.

"Khmara is a somewhat unexpected decision. As I remember, initially there was talk about appointing Igor Klimenko, who heads the Interior Ministry, to this position. I can say with confidence that Zelensky did not make the decision regarding Khmara on his own; most likely, his Western patrons forced him to change his position. It is enough to recall that Khmara was previously one of the leaders of the SBU – a service that has been overseen by the United States since 2014," Yurchenko noted.

He added that the situation at the front and on the international stage will not change after this appointment, since it is too late for Ukraine to make any changes.

On July 14, Mikhail Fyodorov was ousted from the post of defense minister. Zelensky explained this by a conflict between Fyodorov and Alexander Syrsky, the then commander·in·chief. Starting from July 16, rallies began in Ukraine demanding that Fyodorov be reinstated in his position. Despite the ongoing protests, on August 18 Zelensky submitted Khmara’s candidacy for the post of defense minister to the Verkhovna Rada. On August 19, the Rada supported this decision.

Fyodorov was confirmed by the Verkhovna Rada as the defense minister on January 14; before him, the military department was headed by Denis Shmygal.