Today, the National Security Committee may approve Shmyhal as Defense Minister
16 July 2025 07:41
The Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence will consider the candidacy of Denys Shmyhal for the post of Minister of Defense of Ukraine at a meeting today, July 16. This was stated by MP and Secretary of the Committee Roman Kostenko during a briefing in the Verkhovna Rada, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports citing Ukrinform.
“We will discuss Shmyhal’s candidacy for the post of Defense Minister at the committee. He will introduce himself and we will talk to him,” Kostenko said.
According to him, Shmyhal has enough experience, but the committee members will be primarily interested in his vision of the defense sector and cooperation with the parliamentary committee.
“He definitely has enough experience, but we will look at his vision of the work of the Defense Committee,” said the MP.
As a reminder, on July 15, Denys Shmyhal submitted his resignation from the post of Prime Minister. He had served as head of government since March 4, 2020, becoming the prime minister with the longest tenure in the history of independent Ukraine – more than five years.
He is expected to head the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
On July 13, Shmyhal held a working meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. As a result, the head of state announced a “tangible management transformation,” which became a prerequisite for changes in the Cabinet.
Denys Shmyhal was born on October 15, 1975, in Lviv. He graduated from Lviv Polytechnic and holds a PhD in Economics. He has worked in business and public administration, particularly in the energy sector.
In 2019, he served as the head of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional State Administration, and later as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Community and Territorial Development. on March 4, 2020, the Verkhovna Rada appointed him Prime Minister of Ukraine after the resignation of the government of Oleksiy Honcharuk.
During Shmyhal’s premiership, the country went through a number of major challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s full-scale invasion, the energy crisis, and public administration reform. He coordinated international assistance, the implementation of reconstruction initiatives and European integration processes.
