Rada appointed Fedorov as Minister of Defence of Ukraine

The Verkhovna Rada supported the appointment of Mykhailo Fedorov as Minister of Defence of Ukraine.

This was reported by Censor.NET.

Voting

277 MPs voted in favour.

Earlier, it was reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans to dismiss SSU head Vasyl Maliuk and appoint him to other positions.
Sources at Censor.NET in government circles said that there are currently attempts to remove Maliuk from his position as head of the SSU, but this issue has not yet been resolved.
The military, MPs and activists have spoken out in support of Malyuk.
Zelenskyy met with Maliuk and suggested that he focus on combat work in the SSU.
Maliuk later confirmed that he was stepping down as head of the SSU.
Later it became known that the head of the SSU's Special Operations Centre "A", Yevhen Khmara, would temporarily head the Security Service of Ukraine.
On 2 January 2026, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered the head of the DIU of the Ministry of Defence, Kyrylo Budanov, to head the Office of the President.The decision was motivated by the need to strengthen the state's focus on security issues, the development of the Defence Forces and diplomatic negotiations.
Budanov subsequently accepted Zelenskyy's offer and took over as head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, calling his new position another milestone of responsibility to the state at a historic time for the country.
On 2 January, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov the position of Minister of Defence of Ukraine.
The president offered Shmyhal the position of Minister of Energy.