Yevhen Khmara Has Been Appointed Acting Minister of Defense of Ukraine: Statement by Zelenskyy
16 July 20:02
Major General Yevhen Khmara, acting head of the Security Service of Ukraine, has been appointed acting Minister of Defense of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced this on social media, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
“I have tasked Yevhen Khmara with performing the duties of minister, continuing the reform of the defense sector, and ensuring that Ukraine achieves all the results we have discussed. Once the necessary legal procedures have been completed, I will ask parliamentarians to support Yevhen Khmara’s appointment as Minister of Defense of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy stated.
The president assured that there is a strategic vision for how Ukraine should proceed.
“Yevhen Khmara has gained extensive, and in many ways unprecedented, experience in conducting high-tech strike operations. This is precisely what our defense efforts in this war must focus on,” he emphasized.
Yevhen Khmara: What Is Known About Him
Yevhen Khmara is a career military officer and special operations soldier. Since 2011, he has served in the Security Service of Ukraine’s Special Operations Center “A” (known as “Alpha”), and in 2023, he took command of this elite unit.
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At the start of the full-scale invasion, Khmara took direct part in the battles to liberate the Kyiv region. After the northern regions were liberated, he continued to fight against Russian troops in the Donetsk sector.
Under the leadership of Yevhen Khmara, the fighters of Special Operations Unit “A” carried out a series of notable operations:
- The liberation of Zmiinyi Island —Khmara personally led the special operation to liberate this strategically important island in the Black Sea.
- Operation “Spiderweb” —drone operators from Unit “A” played a key role in this legendary operation.
- Strikes deep behind Russian lines —special forces systematically destroy targets on Russian territory, including airfields, ammunition depots, oil refineries, and facilities producing guided munitions and drones.
Overall, Special Operations Center “A” consistently ranks among the top three most effective units of the Defense Forces. Using drones, the fighters have destroyed over $5.5 billion worth of Russian military equipment.
As of early 2026, the unit had destroyed over 1,800 tanks, as well as thousands of armored vehicles, artillery systems, air defense systems, and electronic warfare systems belonging to the enemy.
For his bravery and defense of Ukraine’s sovereignty, Yevhen Khmara was awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, First through Third Classes, in full, as well as the Order “For Bravery,” , Third Class, and the “Cross of Combat Merit” decoration.
On January 5, 2026, Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed Yevhen Khmara as acting head of the SBU following the resignation of Vasyl Malyuk.
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