Rada sitting may be convened at any time to appoint defence minister – "Servant of People" Kravchuk
If necessary, Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk may convene a parliamentary sitting.
Yevheniia Kravchuk, deputy head of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, said this in a comment to Censor.NET.
Rada’s mode of operation
"We do not have regular or extraordinary sittings. We are in a single ongoing sitting during which the speaker announces recesses. Accordingly, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada may reconvene it at any time," she noted.
The MP recalled that the president has not yet submitted a nominee for defence minister to parliament.
Support for president’s choice and attitude towards protests
"If, as the president announced, Khmara is nominated, a legal issue must first be resolved: he is a serviceman, while the position is civilian. In other words, he must be discharged from military service. Alternatively, the law could be amended to introduce an exception during martial law, allowing an active-duty serviceman to serve as minister. This must happen before the nomination is submitted," the politician stressed.
Kravchuk is prepared to support either Khmara or Fedorov for defence minister if the president submits the relevant nomination. "It would be strange not to support the Supreme Commander-in-Chief’s nominee during wartime. But first and foremost, it is his choice," she said.
Speaking about the ongoing protests, she noted: "I respect people’s right to express their views, but this cannot be the sole criterion for the president when making a decision within his constitutional powers."
New Cabinet of Ministers and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; Fedorov’s resignation
- On July 14, the Verkhovna Rada supported a resolution on the resignation of Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko. The entire Cabinet of Ministers automatically resigned with her.
- On July 15, Mykhailo Fedorov said that he was stepping down as head of the Defence Ministry.
- Rallies in support of Mykhailo Fedorov were held in Dnipro, Rivne, Zaporizhzhia, Lutsk, Cherkasy and other cities. Participants are protesting against his resignation.
- On July 16, the Verkhovna Rada voted to appoint the new Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Serhii Koretskyi was appointed Prime Minister.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he would nominate Yevhenii Khmara for the post of Ukraine’s defence minister. Before doing so, he tasked Khmara with serving as acting head of the Defence Ministry.
- Protests against Fedorov’s resignation have continued in Ukrainian cities. In addition to demanding Fedorov’s return as defence minister, people have called for Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi to be dismissed.
- On 21 July, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Oleksandr Syrskyi from his post as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He appointed General Mykhailo Drapatyi to the post instead.
