Ukraine approves new defense minister

KYIV — Ukraine's parliament on Wednesday approved the appointment of Evgeniy Khmara as defense minister, a day after his predecessor, ousted defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov, called for wartime elections and criticized the country's system of governance.

Khmara's appointment was backed by 312 lawmakers, with two voting against. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had earlier appointed Khmara as acting defense minister after the ouster of Fedorov in July.

Khmara previously served as acting head of the Security Service of Ukraine and headed the agency's Special Operations Center "A".

The Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, also approved the reappointment of Andrii Sybiha as foreign minister on Wednesday.

The appointments came as Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies said Wednesday they had uncovered a group involving a deputy head of the presidential office and a former lawmaker.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office said the group was alleged to have laundered 150 million hryvnias ($3.4 million) to pay bail for a defendant in a major graft case last year.

Wartime elections

The government changes came a day after Fedorov called for wartime elections, saying Ukraine faced a "systemic crisis of governance".

"We must find a legal, safe and realistic mechanism that will allow Ukraine to restore a full democratic process even amid a prolonged war," Fedorov said in a video address posted on YouTube.

Ukrainian law prohibits elections while the country is under martial law.

Fedorov, 35, had previously served as minister of digital transformation for six years and was the last remaining member of Zelensky's first cabinet formed in 2019.

After his dismissal, Fedorov publicly criticized armed forces commander Oleksandr Syrsky. Thousands of Ukrainians took to the streets in support of Fedorov following his dismissal, with protests continuing in Kyiv over the past month.

Zelensky said at the time that Fedorov had been dismissed because of his inability to work with Syrsky. Fedorov has said he believed that an overhaul he led in the Defense Ministry's procurement system was a factor in his removal.

In his address, Fedorov also criticized official corruption and what he described as resistance to reform.

Zelensky's office did not immediately comment on Fedorov's address.

AGENCIES-XINHUA